Android users, your WhatsApp chat backup on Google Drive may soon be encrypted

As mentioned by the WABeta Info account, Google Drive backup of chats might finally be encrypted. The feature is said to be under development.

The WhatsApp messaging application is seen on a phone screen. (REUTERS)

WhatsApp, being one of the most used instant messaging apps in the world, has maintained its reputation largely because of its encryption that it does for chats, keeping your private information secure. However, for all the Android users, when the chat backup takes place in Google Drive, the content is not encrypted. The company itself mentions this on its FAQ website "Media and messages you back up aren't protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive."

However, it might not be the case going forward. As mentioned by the WABeta Info account, Google Drive backup of chats might finally be encrypted. The feature is said to be under development.

WhatsApp Google Drive backup with encryption. (WABeta Info)

WhatsApp Google Drive backup with encryption. (WABeta Info)

"New important feature under development: encrypt backup on Google Drive! Finally!" tweeted the account. It has been revealed that although the feature is being under development, it may let users encrypt the chat backup with a password. The option will be seen in the 'Chat Backup' section as 'Password protect backups' option. What's more is that users might not be able to restore the chat history if they lose the password. Also, the feature seems to be optional for now.

The website says that this feature was spotted in the Android app version 2.20.66.

WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption secures all the chat contents including messages, photos, videos, voice messages, status updates and even calls. These are not even accessible by WhatsApp.

It is worth adding that WhatsApp chat backup for iPhone users are encrypted even on iCloud. This was reportedly done back in 2016. As for WhatsApp web, the chats are said to be encrypted and secure since the web client establishes connection via the phone for sending and receiving messages