WhatsApp expands encryption to protect messages

WhatsApp has reinforced the default encryption settings for users so that all messages will now be accessible only to the sender and recipient.

The beefed up encryption for all communications is designed to protect the privacy of the Facebook-owned app's over 1 billion users.

"No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us," WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton said in a blog post announcing the change.

Privacy advocates contend meta-data can still be accessed. That includes records of who is speaking to whom, as well as the date and time of the messages.

Read more from Al Jazeera.