Amnesty International has put out a new “Message Privacy Ranking” report, looking at 11 messaging apps on the way they use encryption to protect user privacy and freedom of expression. The report concluded that many companies such as Snapchat and Skype parent Microsoft have failed to adopt basic privacy protections on their instant messaging services, putting the human rights of users at risk. Amnesty noted that messages are under constant threat from cybercriminals and spying by state authorities and that young people, the most prolific sharers of personal details and photos over apps like Snapchat, are particularly at risk. It is calling on companies to apply end-to-end encryption to messaging apps as a default.
Looking at end-to end encryption as a minimum requirement for ensuring that private information in messaging apps stays private, Amnesty ranked companies on a scale of 1-100, with Tencent coming out at the bottom with 0. BlackBerry came next with 20, followed by Snaptchat with 26 and Microsoft and Kakao tied with 40. Viber Media and Line both garnered 47, followed by Google with 53. Telegram and Apple with both 67, and Facebook with 73.
Amnesty noted that despite Microsoft’s strong policy commitment to human rights, it is still using a weak form of encryption on Skype. Snapchat, with a strong policy commitment towards privacy, does not in practice do enough to protect user privacy, with no end-to-end encryption, and non-transparency when it comes to informing users about threats to their human rights or its use of encryption. Facebook, with Messenger and WhatsApp, scored highest but still uses a weak form of encryption for its default mode. This means Facebook has access to all the data. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption by default and notably provides clear information to users about encryption within the app. Apple meanwhile scored well, providing full end-to-end encryption in all communications on its iMessage and Facetime apps, but needs needs to do more to make users aware that SMS messages are less secure than iMessages. The company should also adopt a more open encryption protocol that allows for full independent verification.
“The future of privacy and free speech online depends to a very large extent on whether tech companies provide services that protect our communications, or serve them up on a plate for prying eyes,” the report concluded.
