WhatsApp users were just given an awesome new feature—the ability to make end-to-end encrypted video calls for groups of up to eight.
But it seems that eight is the limit if you want to stay secure, because once you add more people to your video chat, you’ll be redirected to the much less secure and private Facebook Messenger Rooms.
That’s according to WABetaInfo, which discovered that WhatsApp is working to add Messenger Rooms shortcuts that will redirect you to Messenger if you want to use a Room. The feature isn’t available yet and the release date is unknown.
Facebook bought WhatsApp back in 2014, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg last year outlined how Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram would be integrated at the back end. But those plans have run into problems of late, due to the difficulty of implementing end-to-end encryption across platforms.Today In: Cybersecurity
End-to-end encryption—which means no one can access your encrypted data, including WhatsApp owner Facebook—is actually pretty rare in video chat apps. Zoom has just bought a security company so it can add end-to-end encryption, while up and coming video chat platform Jitsi is working on adding the feature soon.
Signal is end-to-end encrypted but does not support group chats, so the best options for now are WhatsApp and Apple’s FaceTime. But if your group is more than eight, I wouldn’t recommend you use Facebook Messenger Rooms—at least if you value security and privacy.
As well as the fact Messenger Rooms is not end-to-end encrypted, it’s not a very private service. Its privacy policy is the same as Facebook’s so there’s a lot of data you’d need to give up.
However, it’s not all bad with Messenger Rooms—at least if you’re a participant—because you don’t have to have a Facebook account to use it.
Messenger Rooms—Not as secure and private as WhatsApp
Lack of end-to-end encryption means Messenger Room chats are not as private as WhatsApp calls, but this might may not be an issue to those choosing not to sign up to a Facebook account to remain more anonymous, says Jake Moore, cybersecurity specialist at ESET.
However he adds: “Personally, I would still recommend only using fully end-to-end encrypted communication services for my own privacy and even as a silent protest to the tech giants to show that we care about it.”MORE FROM FORBESZoom Security: You Need To Know About These 3 New FeaturesBy Kate O’Flaherty
I agree. WhatsApp is a great service, but the fact it’s owned by Facebook is always going to be a red flag for me, especially if I then have to use Messenger Rooms for large group chats. Signal would be my first choice if it’s a one-to-one video call, and FaceTime otherwise if you have an Apple device.
Courtesy: Forbes