I was listening to a podcast and there was an ad for WhatsApp with the whole premise that if you don’t use end to end encryption for your text messages, that those texts are as easy to view as it is listening to a podcast, which made me think: is that really true? Because I wouldn’t even know where to start to see someone else’s texts, nor would I be interested and I’m sure the average everyday person wouldn’t need to worry about it right?
Am I missing something? Is there a way that anyone can input my number and suddenly have access to all my texts?
In: Technology
Think of it this way, OP: if you’re like most people out there, you like your communications with other people to stay private and away from prying eyes.
Now, while writing stuff on paper has its advantages in that respect relative to message interception, electronic communications hacking is a real thing that both nation-states (and not just ours), private companies, and nefarious people or groups practice daily, as intercepting information transiting through the internet is far easier than most people can understand.
Without E2E encryption, your communications would revert back to the time of postcards that anybody could ready during transit, starting with the mailman, your parents, and your nosy sister.
With the internet, anyone with the necessary skills can potentially identify you as a target for whatever reason and try to access your private communications from literally anywhere in the world using a basic computer connected to the internet.
Thus, in order to protect your private life and that of the people you exchange with, you use E2E encryption as much as possible, at least for sensitive information.
It’s worth reminding that standard email offers zero protection against hacking.
Point is, if you need to exchange privately, whatever the reason, use an E2E encrypted system.
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