WhatsApp is to add encrypted video calling to its service on Monday, as it continues to bolsters security on the app.
This new and secure addition to the app is designed to compete with other popular video calling services, like FaceTime and Skype.
Speaking to Reuters, Jan Koum, co- founder of WhatsApp, said: “We obviously try to be in tune with what our users want.
“We’re obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones.”
That it is encrypted will reassure users all over the world that the conversations they have over video remain private.
This is the latest effort from the company to make WhatsApp one of the most secure apps in the world.
Earlier this year, it announced that it had added full end-to-end encryption.
At the time, WhatsApp said of the decision: "The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to.
“No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us."
In related news, an investigation into WhatsApp’s decision to share customer data with Facebook by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found that personal information is not being properly handled.
“I had concerns that consumers weren’t being properly protected, and it’s fair to say the enquiries my team have made haven’t changed that view,” information commissioner Elizabeth Denham remarked.
“I don’t think users have been given enough information about what Facebook plans to do with their information, and I don’t think WhatsApp has got valid consent from users to share the information.”
