Short answer
The short answer
MELKEM INC. is developing its own messaging service, so this guide sticks to what each company says about itself.
WhatsApp says its personal messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted. Signal says its conversations are always end-to-end encrypted. This guide reports what each company says, and it doesn’t compare them or choose between them.
As the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security describes it, end-to-end encryption means messages are encrypted from your device to the recipient’s device, so not even the messaging service provider can read them. Each company also describes a backup setting, and those are covered below.
More guides: what encryption is.
WhatsApp
What WhatsApp says
WhatsApp’s help page says: “End-to-end encryption keeps your personal messages and calls between you and the person you’re communicating with. No one outside of the chat, not even WhatsApp, can read, listen to, or share them.” It adds: “All of this happens automatically: no need to turn on any special settings to secure your messages.”
WhatsApp says each end-to-end encrypted chat between you and one other person has its own security code, and that “The verification process is optional for end-to-end encrypted chats”. To check a chat, open it, tap the contact’s name, then tap Encryption. For a different kind of code, read why you should never share the codes a service sends you.
WhatsApp also says what it doesn’t count as end-to-end encrypted. Of payments on WhatsApp, it says “these payments aren’t end-to-end encrypted”. It says that when businesses use certain optional services, “we display this clearly in the chat and do not consider messages with these businesses to be end-to-end encrypted”. And of messages with third-party agents, it says “these conversations are not considered end-to-end encrypted”.
WhatsApp backup
WhatsApp’s encrypted backup setting
WhatsApp’s article on end-to-end encrypted backup, in its iPhone version, says that when you set up chat backup you choose a cloud backup provider, WhatsApp cloud storage or iCloud storage. For iCloud storage it says: “You have the option to turn on end-to-end encryption for these backups.” For WhatsApp cloud storage it says: “your backup is always end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one, not even WhatsApp or Meta, can access it.” It also says: “WhatsApp cloud storage is a new feature we’re building and testing out and may not be available to you yet.”
It says: “End-to-end encrypted backups are protected by either a passkey, password, or a 64-digit encryption key.” It describes a passkey as working with supported password managers such as the Password app on iOS, and says that to use passkeys your iPhone must have iOS 18 or higher and a screen lock set up. A 64-digit encryption key is generated by WhatsApp. A password is one you create yourself, separate from the password you can set up for app lock.
The article’s steps to turn on end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups are: go to Settings or your profile picture; tap Chats, then Chat Backup; tap End-to-end encryption; and follow the prompts. You are prompted either to tap Use passkey, if you have a passkey, or to tap More options to use a 64-digit encryption key or a password instead.
The article warns: “You can’t access your encrypted backup if you don’t have your password, encryption key, or passkey.” And: “WhatsApp can’t send you a copy, reset it, or restore your backup for you.” It also says: “Turning off end-to-end encrypted backup or creating a new passkey won’t unlock an existing encrypted backup.”
Signal
What Signal says
Signal’s support article says its conversations are always end-to-end encrypted. It says: “Privacy isn’t an optional mode — it’s just the way that Signal works. Every message, every call, every time.”
The article also says: “You can confirm that the server is operating correctly and that you are communicating with the right person using safety numbers.” And: “The complete source code for the Signal clients and the Signal server is available on GitHub.”
Signal backup
Signal’s Secure Backups setting
Signal’s article on Secure Backups says: “When this optional feature is enabled, your device will automatically back up your message history so you won’t lose important data if you get a new phone or reinstall Signal.” Of the backup, it says: “Your Secure Backup Archive is end-to-end encrypted and protected by a cryptographically secure 64-character recovery key that is never shared with the Signal service.”
It says what is in the archive: “your Secure Backup Archive includes all of your text messages and the last 45 days of media”. It also says: “For a small monthly fee, you can also opt to store up to 100 gigabytes of media.” And: “View-once messages and any messages that are scheduled to disappear within the next 24 hours will be excluded.”
The article’s steps to turn it on are: open Signal Settings, then Backups; tap Setup, then Enable Backups; save your recovery key to your password manager or save it manually; then confirm the key and choose between the free or paid backup plan.
On a lost key, the article says: “Without your unique recovery key, no one (including Signal) can read, decrypt, or restore any of the data in your Secure Backup Archive.”
