WhatsApp to introduce encrypted cloud backup with new storage options

WhatsApp currently uses cloud services to back up chats and other user data.

For Android users, Google Drive is used, while iPhone users rely on iCloud for chat backups. However, WhatsApp is set to introduce a new chat backup option for users in the near future.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, the platform is working on a feature that will allow users to store their chats in the company’s own cloud storage.

This cloud backup will be encrypted. The feature is currently being tested in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android devices.

With this development, Android users will have two cloud backup options: Google Drive and WhatsApp’s own cloud storage, with the latter offering 2GB of free storage.

At present, WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption for personal messages by default, but users must manually enable encryption for backups.

When end-to-end encryption is enabled for backup data, no one — not even WhatsApp — can access it.

To enable this feature, users need to go to WhatsApp settings, select “Chats”, then “Chat Backup”, and turn on “End-to-End Encrypted Backup”.

However, in WhatsApp’s own cloud storage system, all data will reportedly be end-to-end encrypted by default.

The report further states that WhatsApp plans to offer 50GB of cloud storage for a monthly fee of one dollar.

As the feature is still being tested in the beta version, it remains unclear when it will be rolled out to all users.