{
  "slug": "whatsapp",
  "name": "WhatsApp",
  "maker": "Meta",
  "category": "chats",
  "verdict": "y",
  "answer": "Yes. Only you and the people you message can read your WhatsApp chats and calls. Backups are the exception: they're only sealed if you turn that on.",
  "title": "Is WhatsApp encrypted? Chats, calls and backups",
  "description": "Only you and the people you message can read WhatsApp chats and calls. Backups are only sealed if you turn that on. Checked at the source.",
  "parts": [
    {
      "key": "msg",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only you and the people you message",
      "note": "On by default for every personal chat, and WhatsApp says it has no off switch.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ],
      "label": "Messages"
    },
    {
      "key": "grp",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only you and the group",
      "note": "Group chats are sealed by default too, with the same Signal protocol as one-to-one chats.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ],
      "label": "Group chats"
    },
    {
      "key": "call",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only you and the people you call",
      "note": "Voice and video calls are sealed by default, group calls included.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ],
      "label": "Calls"
    },
    {
      "key": "bak",
      "status": "o",
      "words": "Only you, once you turn it on",
      "note": "Backups to Google or iCloud are only sealed if you turn on end-to-end encrypted backup, while WhatsApp's own cloud storage, still being tested, is always sealed.",
      "sources": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "label": "Backups"
    },
    {
      "key": "pq",
      "status": "x",
      "words": "Not yet",
      "note": "No post-quantum protection for chats announced as of 25 October 2026, and WhatsApp's February 2026 white paper describes no post-quantum step.",
      "sources": [
        1,
        5
      ],
      "label": "Post-quantum"
    }
  ],
  "extra_parts": [
    {
      "key": "status",
      "label": "Status updates",
      "icon": "photo",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only the people you share with",
      "note": "Statuses are sealed the same way as group messages.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    },
    {
      "key": "business-ai",
      "label": "Chats with businesses and Meta AI",
      "icon": "people",
      "status": "p",
      "words": "Partly",
      "note": "Chats with businesses that run their own WhatsApp account are sealed, but WhatsApp doesn't count chats with Meta AI, or with businesses that have Meta or another company handle their chats, as end-to-end encrypted.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    }
  ],
  "keys": "Your phone and linked devices. WhatsApp's servers never have them.",
  "can_see": "Your phone number, profile name and photo, who you talk to and when, your group names and pictures, your IP address, and when you were last online.",
  "business": "On business plans, a business that links Meta's Cloud API lets Meta handle its one-to-one chats, and WhatsApp then no longer counts those chats as end-to-end encrypted.",
  "fix": {
    "title": "Seal your backups, once",
    "steps": [
      "Open Settings › Chats › Chat Backup.",
      "Tap End-to-end encrypted backup (on iPhone it's called End-to-end encryption) and follow the prompts.",
      "Tap Use passkey, or tap More options to use a password or a 64-digit key instead."
    ],
    "after": "Keep the password or key somewhere safe: if you lose it, WhatsApp can't reset it or restore the backup for you."
  },
  "fix_line": "Turn on sealed backups: Settings › Chats › Chat Backup › End-to-end encrypted backup.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "can-meta-read-my-whatsapp-messages",
      "q": "Can Meta read my WhatsApp messages?",
      "a": "No. Messages are sealed on your phone and only unlocked on the phones you send them to, and WhatsApp's servers never have the keys [1]. WhatsApp says this applies to every personal chat and call, and can't be switched off [1].\n\nThere are two exceptions. WhatsApp doesn't count chats with Meta AI, or with businesses that have Meta or another company handle their chats, as end-to-end encrypted [1]. And a backup to your Google Account or iCloud isn't sealed by WhatsApp unless you turn that on [2][4]."
    },
    {
      "id": "are-whatsapp-backups-encrypted",
      "q": "Are WhatsApp backups end-to-end encrypted?",
      "a": "Only if you turn it on. When you back up to your Google Account or iCloud, sealing is an option, and WhatsApp's privacy policy says those services receive what you back up, such as your messages [2][4].\n\nOnce you turn it on, the backup is locked with a passkey, a password or a 64-digit key that only you have. WhatsApp can't reset it or restore the backup for you [2].\n\nWhatsApp is also testing its own cloud storage for backups, with 2 GB free. Backups kept there are always sealed [3]."
    },
    {
      "id": "is-whatsapp-quantum-safe",
      "q": "Is WhatsApp quantum safe?",
      "a": "Not yet. WhatsApp's encryption white paper, updated on 25 February 2026, describes how chats are set up and has no post-quantum step [1].\n\nMeta's April 2026 post on its post-quantum work talks about its internal traffic, not WhatsApp chats [5]. No post-quantum protection for WhatsApp chats was announced as of 25 October 2026."
    },
    {
      "id": "what-can-whatsapp-see",
      "q": "What can WhatsApp see about me?",
      "a": "WhatsApp can't see what you write, but it does collect data about how you use it. Its privacy policy lists your phone number, profile name and photo, when and how often you use the app and who with, your group names and pictures, your IP address, and when you were last online [4].\n\nIf you let it upload your contacts, WhatsApp also gets the phone numbers in your address book [4]."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "WhatsApp Encryption Overview, technical white paper, version 9 (25 February 2026)",
      "publisher": "Meta",
      "url": "https://www.whatsapp.com/security/WhatsApp-Security-Whitepaper.pdf",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "About end-to-end encrypted backup",
      "publisher": "Meta",
      "url": "https://faq.whatsapp.com/490592613091019",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "How to use WhatsApp cloud storage",
      "publisher": "Meta",
      "url": "https://faq.whatsapp.com/1760166854992273",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "WhatsApp Privacy Policy",
      "publisher": "Meta",
      "url": "https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration at Meta: Framework, Lessons, and Takeaways (16 April 2026)",
      "publisher": "Meta",
      "url": "https://engineering.fb.com/2026/04/16/security/post-quantum-cryptography-migration-at-meta-framework-lessons-and-takeaways/",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    }
  ],
  "changes": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-25",
      "text": "First published."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "signal",
    "imessage",
    "messenger",
    "telegram"
  ],
  "url": "https://isitencrypted.com/whatsapp/",
  "checked": "2026-10-25"
}