Amid leaked chats of actors, Whatsapp says texts are end--to-end encrypted

WhatsApp on Friday said messages sent on its platform are end-to-end encrypted and only the recipient of a message can read the content.

The statement comes at a time when WhatsApp chats of Bollywood actors about drugs have been purportedly leaked and has raised concerns among WhatsApp users about privacy of their conversations on the messaging platform.

"WhatsApp protects your messages with end-to-end encryption so that only you and the person you're communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between can access it, not even WhatsApp," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said that people sign up on WhatsApp using only a phone number and that the Facebook-owned company does not have access to the message content.

"WhatsApp follows guidance provided by operating system manufacturers for on-device storage and we encourage people to take advantage of all the security features provided by operating systems such as strong passwords or biometric IDs to prevent third parties from accessing content stored on the device," the spokesperson said.