These days, there is no other than the messages disclosed between Pedro Sánchez and Ábalos. And as a iPhone user, many are invited: what is really going on when we have messages on WhatsApp? Do they disappear forever or are they stored somewhere? Or worse, if we do not delete them, how is it possible to infiltrate? I do not want to enter politics (and it is not necessary to understand the bottom of this case). But the current situation has focused on something that interests usAnd this is the confidentiality of our WhatsApp messages.
And it is not necessary to be the president: work problems, with the couple, a divorce process … There can be so many situations in which we do not want messages to come in the light that it is normal for us to know how to protect ourselves.
How are these messages possible to reveal themselves? Are we really sure on WhatsApp?
We all wonder how messages that have already been eliminated from the phone can be revealed, or even a conversation between two people if none has disclosed. The answer is that whatsapp encryption is sureYes: even WhatsApp cannot read the messages sent between two users because only participating devices have the keys.
Therefore, are we really protected? In practice, WhatsApp and Apple offer a lot of safety to the average user, but perfect confidentiality does not exist. This is where the most extreme steps enter, as the Pegasus group of Nso shows. Although the goal has won a historic legal victory against spy software and Apple company constantly strengthens iOS, tools such as Pegasus were able to infect mobiles and extract all its content.
Conclusion? WhatsApp is very sure that if you confine confidentiality, copies of encryption and that your device is updated, but perfect security does not exist: combinations of metadata, poorly encrypted backups and the human factor that makes, in legal cases or if there is enough interest (like Pegasus), nothing is 100%sure. Therefore, a WhatsApp message can continue to exist even if you think you have erased it forever.
The false promise to erase
When we press this button “Delete for all” on WhatsApp, we feel a kind of immediate relief. This indiscreet message, this compromised photo Or this audio that you sent at three in the morning seems to disappear. But the reality is very different.
What really happens is that the message simply disappears from the visual interface of the conversation. But in the data world, there are still several places. In the case of the prosecutor García Ortiz, it was clear. Although he has erased all of his WhatsApp messages, he eliminated his Google account, he changed his phone and even formatted his old device (go, he practically did everything possible), The judge managed to recover information through international requests A WhatsApp y Google.
Where your “erased” messages continue to live on iPhone
The reason why your messages do not really disappear when deleting them have to do with the operation of WhatsApp and data storage on your iPhone:
In the device of the other person: If you read your message before erasing it, you can do little. In the case of the prosecutor, the messages he deleted were recovered from the telephone of the provincial prosecutor Pilar Rodríguez, who had not eliminated them. And, of course, the possible screenshots will always remain.
In iCloud backups: On iPhone, WhatsApp keeps a copy of all your cats in default iCloud. And here is the important thing: these copies are not quantified by default. So if someone has access to your iCloud account, you can recover messages you thought deleted. It is not something so easy, because it would need full access to your Apple identifier. But be impossible, especially if there is a hacking and phishing work behind.
Metadata: Although WhatsApp cannot read the content of your messages thanks to end-to-end encryption, he stored information on who you talked about, when, for how long and which device. These data may be sufficient to rebuild communication models in a survey.
The internal memory of your iPhone: Even after deleting a message, data fragments can remain in the device's memory and can be recovered by specialized forensic analysis. It is also possible to obtain information via third part programs by connecting the device by USB and unlocking it.
This is how the messages are really deleted
If after all this, you think “okay, then how do I delete my real messages?” It may seem easy, but there are many aspects to take into account:
First of all, delete the messages of the WhatsApp: The biggest problem is that a WhatsApp conversation is “for two”. Although you delete all copies, the other person will continue to have the conversation. You only have two days after sending a message to use the delete option for everyone. After this period, the message will always be on the device of the other person. If you manage to delete messages, you can follow the following steps.
Then delete iCloud backup copiesThis is where your conversations really stay. Access Settings> Your name> iCloud> Space> Whatsapp Messenger> Delete iCloud data.
The next step is the general copy of the iCloud system: It may seem the same, but this is not the case. Let's say WhatsApp conversations can also be stored in the full copy of your iPhone. To eliminate these backups, go to Settings> Your name> iCloud> Space> Copies. Touch this iPhone and eliminate it.
Return copies to your computer. If you have connected your iPhone to a PC or Mac, a physical backup on the computer has been carried out. Eliminate it following the steps, even if the copy is encrypted and your Apple ID password is necessary, it is a risk of having it on a hard drive.
Uninstall whatsapp of your iPhone. Keep it down on the home screen and select “Delete the application”. This erases the application and its local data, although it is not sufficient alone.
When the Whatsapp reinstal levels, Do not restore the history of the cat When the application offers it. Start from scratch, although it means losing all your previous conversations.
Improve your day up to date and protect conversations
Now you know how to erase everything and try to leave the slightest possible trace. It is for extreme cases that we generally approach when it is too late. Because yes, with only two days to erase messages, there is little room for maneuver. Therefore, the most recommended, if you have sensitive conversations, is to take measures before.
Activate the encryption of backups: Go to WhatsApp> Cats> Backup> End-to-Fand Encryption. With this, even Apple cannot access the content of your copies in iCloud.
Use two steps check: This prevents someone from activating your WhatsApp account on another device, even if you get your SMS verification code. You can also add a pass key, which forces you to authenticate you for Face ID to connect. Access WhatsApp Settings> Account> two -step verification and access keys.
Speaking from the Face ID, define it to ask you to capture your face when you enter the application. This adds an additional layer so that, even if they have your iPhone unlocked, they cannot read your messages. Access WhatsApp> Privacy> Application block settings.
Finally, activate temporary messages: Make them disappear automatically after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. To do this, you will have to get into conversion, the person in person and click on his name. In adjustments, activate temporary messages. Inside, you can choose by default that they start forever.
The best advice: what you don't want to know, don't write it
In the end, the best strategy is not technical, but common sense. What you don't want to be known, do not write it on WhatsApp. Because, no matter how much your safety is improved and even if you take all the deletion steps that I told you, Once you have sent something, you lose part of the control over. You can end up in a screenshot, be transmitted to another person or recover from a backup that you do not know.
And yes, he is afraid of thinking that the conversations you thought to be deprived can resurface years later. But now At least you know how to minimize this risk And what to do when you really need something to disappear forever. Because let's be sincere: we all have something that we would prefer not to reveal ourselves. And no, it is not necessary to be president to worry about it.
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