WhatsApp fans have been given a big update about a major change that will impact millions of users.
WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular chat app in the world.
The Facebook-owned messenger has over 1.5billion active users each and every month around the globe.
These users in total send a staggering 65billion messages on WhatsApp per day.
And now a major change is set to come into force which could have huge ramifications for WhatsApp users around the globe.
WhatsApp has long prided itself on its end-to-end encryption for the sending of messages to stop it “falling into the wrong hands”.
As the chat app explains in a blog post online: “WhatsApp end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what’s sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp.
“Your messages are secured with locks, and only the recipient and you have the special keys needed to unlock and read your messages.
“For added protection, every message you send has a unique lock and key.
“All of this happens automatically: No need to turn on settings or set up special secret chats to secure your messages.”
However, now a landmark ruling has been passed in the courts which will impact WhatsApp and other apps that use end-to-end encryption.
Unprecedented laws have been passed in Australia which compels tech companies to give access to encrypted messages to police and security agencies.
According to the BBC these laws were rushed through the Australian parliament on its final day of the year.
Australia are the first country in the world to pass such a law and it remains to be seen whether others will now follow suit.
Police in the country will be able to force companies to give them access to encrypted messages without the user in question’s knowledge.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said these new powers are only limited to “serious offences” and are designed to tackle terrorism and organised crime.
But cyber security experts claimed a “back door” decryption would have ramifications for users overall.
Dr Chris Culnane from the University of Melbourne said: “Any vulnerability would just weaken the existing encryption scheme, affecting security overall for innocent people”.
Dr Culnane added that such a “security hole” could then get abused or exploited by criminals.
Recent stats shows there are six million WhatsApp users in Australia alone.