Viber has started rolling out the much-talked-about end-to-end encryption for all of its voice, video as well as messaging services.
The Rakuten-owned communication platform now joins the likes of WhatsApp and Apple in rolling out security protocols that will see their users’ communications remain as private as possible. In addition to introducing end-to-end encryption, Viber will also let the more than 700 million people that use it protect their chats with a PIN.
WhatsApp recently started notifying users of encrypted individual and group chats. This is the same channel that Viber has taken, offering the same protection to users who chat in one-to-one chats or groups. With end-to-end encryption, it means that the only persons who can see the messages are those directly involved in the chat. Users will further prevent any prying eyes from seeing their content on the platform with the help of a passcode.
Apple has had a long battle with the FBI over the matters of user privacy against national security. Well, each party had their own way – Apple did not comply with the order requiring them to provide a way through which an iPhone could be breached whereas the FBI ultimately found a way to decrypt the device in question. In order to make it even tougher for the government, Apple is said to have enhanced the security system in place, with the likes of WhatsApp and now Viber borrowing the same leaf.
This move means that governments will have an even harder time when it comes to accessing messages exchanged between Viber users. Just like WhatsApp, the Asian-based free calling app has no way of accessing the messages being exchanged between users of the app. In addition, end-to-end encryption also means that no any other third party can come in and intercept messages while on transit.
As mentioned earlier, there is a new feature where users can now protect their conversations using a PIN code. In this way, you can hide certain conversations from prying eyes, which means an additional protection layer.
This feature can only be found in the latest version of Viber. So, make sure you visit the official Apple App Store or Google Play Store to get the newest version of the app. Of course, the new app won’t be available to all users at once, but the company promised that it will be rolling out over the next several weeks to all supported platforms.