WhatsApp chats have been encrypted but users had no way to protect the backup of those chats stored in the cloud (in iCloud for iPhone users, and Google Drive for Android users). Now WhatsApp's 2B users will have the option to encrypt their chat history backup in iCloud or Google Drive. This has been a major loophole that has been exploited by governments to obtain and review private communication between individuals. This is a privacy win for WhatsApp vs. Apple, which encrypts iMessages but still holds the keys to encrypted backups (that Apple can hand over to law enforcement). Link
