Although many messaging applications support end-to-end encryption, it seems that the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation can snoop on all user chats including iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Viber, and WeChat.
End-to-end encryption itself is a communication system where only the user who is communicating can read the message
According to a report from Rolling Stone, leaked documents from the FBI reveal that the intelligence agency was able to request personal data from more than nine encrypted messaging services.
While the messages remain end-to-end encrypted, the FBI can collect real-time metadata about user messages via WhatsApp and other chat apps.
This collected metadata includes the user's phone number, IP address, location, message timestamp, and who the user has contacted over time.
This information can be used to accurately compile a user's movements and contacts, without breaking the end-to-end encryption that WhatsApp promises to users.
While this may seem harmless, it can have consequences for whistleblowers or those who need confidentiality to stay safe.
Meanwhile, US government agencies can obtain iMessages from iCloud with a search warrant in accordance with Apple's law enforcement guidelines.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told the Independent that the contents of all his chats remain secure and fully encrypted.
"All messages you send to family and friends on WhatsApp are encrypted. We know that people want their messaging service to be reliable and secure - and that requires WhatsApp to have limited data," WhatsApp said.
"We carefully review, validate and respond to law enforcement requests under applicable law, and are clear about this on our website and in regular transparency reports."
"This work has helped us lead the industry in delivering private communications while keeping people safe, and has helped arrest criminal cases, including cases of child sexual exploitation."
A report from ProPublica earlier this year revealed that WhatsApp has more than 1,000 contract workers tasked with reviewing user reports of explicit or harmful content on a daily basis.
