Not everything is secret in encrypted apps like iMessage and WhatsApp
Except, not everything is end-to-end encrypted in end-to-end encrypted apps.
That could mean what you type in chats are saved on company computers that corporations such as Apple or your phone provider could read. Details such as the timestamps of every text to your boyfriend might not be under lock and key, either.
That’s not necessarily bad. Each end-to-end encryption choice has trade-offs. More privacy and security could also make it harder for you to use an app, or can shield activity of terrorists and child predators.
The mess I’m describing — end-to-end encryption but with certain exceptions — may be a healthy balance of your privacy and our safety.
The problem is it’s confusing to know what is encrypted and secret in communications apps, what is not and why it might matter to you.
To illuminate the nuances, I broke down five questions about end-to-end encryption for five communications apps.
Is the content of every message automatically end-to-end encrypted?
The biggest encryption caveat is for the built-in texting apps on iPhones and most Android phones in the United States. Those are Apple’s Messages app, also known as iMessage, and the Messages by Google app.
If you use Apple’s app, texts that you send and receive are only end-to-end encrypted if everyone else in the chat is using that app.
If the text you see is in blue, the contents of messages are end-to-end encrypted for everyone in the chat.
Even if Apple wanted to read your texts, it doesn’t have a key to unscramble those messages. (There’s a caveat in the next section about backup copies.)
But the dreaded green bubbles are Apple’s warning. If you’re in a group chat with three people using Apple’s chat app and one person on an Android phone, no one’s texts are end-to-end…