If WhatsApp messages are end to end encrypted, how can WhatsApp show me the code used to encrypt those messages?
In: 92
I assume you are talking about the *code* shown below a contact because the question doesn’t make it clear.
WhatsApp is not showing you the code used to encrypt your messages. That code is used to verify the person on the other side is who they say they are. It is way to confirm the device.
It is not WhatsApp’s proprietary implementation. It is based on the Signal protocol, Signal has that as an option to verify the device used by the person you text with as well.
What really is happening with Signal (and any app that uses their implementation in their apps like WhatsApp, the incognito mode in the now dead Google Allo etc) is
Bob and Alice are texting with each other. Bob’s WhatsApp installation has a code. Bob can see that. Alice’s WhatsApp installation has a code, she can see that. If Bob scans the code shown by Alice’s device, his WhatsApp confirms that yes this is Alice’s device. When you do that you get a ‘device verified’ tag in front of the contact. When Alice reinstalls WhatsApp or changes her device, it causes a new code to be generated. Then Bob will see Alice has an unverified device at that point. That is why you see notifications in group chats whenever someone you are texting changes phones or reinstalls their app.
Latest Answers