WhatsApp brings encryption to iCloud

Facebook-owned WhatsApp rolled out end-to-end encryption feature for all users last year. It ensures that only the sender and intended recipient can read a message, thus preventing it from being intercepted. The company has now added an extra layer of security to iCloud backup, allowing iOS users to securely backup their chats to iCloud.

According to various online reports, WhatsApp's iCloud encryption has been there for some time but came to light only recently. However, a Russian security company called Oxygen Forensics claimed to have circumvented the encryption. The company said that if they have access to a SIM card, they can use it to create an encryption key that can be used by anyone to access iCloud messages with ease. 

What this essentially means is that government authorities with access to a SIM card can potentially use it to still gain access to encrypted messages stored in iCloud.

Recently, an online report suggested that WhatsApp is planning on introducing a feature that will allow users to pin individual or group chats at the top. The chat pinning feature is available in version 2.17.162 or 2.17.163 of WhatsApp for Android beta app.

The feature allows users to select up to three chats (including both individual and group chats) on the top, so that they don't get lost in the list of conversations. To pin a chat, users just have to long press on it and then tap on the pin icon that appears on the top bar. There are other icons as well, which can be used to access options such as delete, mute and archive.

The same method can also be used to unpin chats. Users just have to long press on the chat once again and tap the same pin icon on the top to unpin a pinned chat.