Thursday, May 19, 2016

Google Announces encrypted messaging application, already criticized – The World

Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the Google I /  O in Mountain View, California, Wednesday, May 18,  2016.

Among the many announcements from the Google I / O for developers Wednesday May 18, the company announced the launch of a new messaging application, entitled “Hello.” Inspired features fashionable (emphasis on the emoji, ability to draw on the submitted images and even integrated chatbot), Allo will also have an “incognito” mode, which will allow users to communicate encrypted.

a major challenge, a few weeks after WhatsApp, the messaging application that claims no less than a billion users, announced that it completed generalization encrypt conversations. An announcement followed the heated battle between Apple and the FBI, the latter wishing to force the company to develop a program to access the encrypted content from the iPhone to one of the authors of the shooting in San Bernardino , California, December 2, 2015.

in this tense environment, where large firms in Silicon Valley, supporting Apple’s refusal to yield to the FBI, have positioned themselves heralds defense of the privacy of their users, comes the launch of Hello.

this application will allow people who want to encrypt their communications from end to end, which means that only the participants in the conversation will be able to decipher these messages. Google itself will not be able to read -. And therefore respond to any requests of the authorities to decipher

“Without default security, there is no security ‘

the technology used by Google to encrypt messages transiting Allo is based on the open source protocol signal, developed by Open Systems Whispers, who worked with the US company on the project. This is the same tool used by WhatsApp and Signal applications today.

But, unlike other encrypted messaging applications from start to finish, including also include Viber or iMessage, celle- it will not be by default. Charge users to make the approach. And for good reason: many features of this app multitasking will not be usable in “incognito” mode. For the application to propose new responses in a conversation, or automatically save an appointment in Google Calendar, it will be necessary that these services are able to read the messages “in the clear.”

This decision has deeply disappointed some advocates of digital freedoms. “ Qualifier to secure the new app from Google Allo is … not fair. No default security, there is no security, “ took offense at Twitter Nate Cardozo, a representative of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an American organization defending digital freedoms.

Even critics towards Christopher Soghoian, the powerful American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): “making optional encryption is a decision taken by the business and legal teams. This allows Google to operate conversations and not annoy the authorities. “

The question is whether the application, which is due out this summer, will manage to get a place among its many competitors.

Read also: personal Assistant, home automation, messaging … the major announcements from Google I / O

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