WhatsApp continues to improve and test its new features via its beta versions. In the latest news it has been confirmed that WhatsApp, as part of the Google Play Beta Program, has launched the version 2.21.15.5 for Android. The 2.21.15.5 beta update is rolling out End-To-End Encrypted Backups for Android. Let’s have a look:

End-To-End Encrypted Backups

WhatsApp is finally enabling an important feature: a possibility to encrypt your backups! But what does an End-To-End Encrypted backup mean? If your data backup is end to end encrypted it simply means that your data backups protect your chat history and media from unauthorized access.

WhatsApp
Source: WABetaInfo

According to the WABetaInfo website:
How does the encryption work? You need to choose a password that will be used to encrypt your future backups. It’s always needed to insert the password when you restore a backup, otherwise you won’t be able to restore your chat history. This password is private and it’s not shared with WhatsApp, Facebook, Google or Apple.

End-to-end encrypted backups also support an encryption key that can be used to restore your password. It can only contain numeric digits and lowercase letters between ‘a’ and ‘f’. If you lose this key, WhatsApp cannot help you to recover it.

Below is an image of what will happen when WhatsApp asks you for an encryption key to recover your backups.

WhatsApp
Source: WABetaInfo

But after releasing end-to-end encrypted backups in the 2.21.15.5 Android beta update, WhatsApp in the 2.21.15.7 Android beta update had to temporarily remove it due to a connection issue. Not to worry, the feature will be back soon after WhatsApp fixes the issues. Until then it still remains under the “rolling out” status.
We previously covered “What Is The New ‘Joinable Calls’ Feature on WhatsApp?“. To know more. Click Here.