Google messaging app, Allo, hits digital shelves today, and while the app's fun take on sending missives and smart integration with Google tech is appealing, those sold on secure messaging are giving it some scrutiny - to include privacy advocate and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Though originally announced as an end-to-end encrypted service at this year's Google I/O conference, Allo does in fact keep a record of your messages on file, The Verge reports.
Nicknaming the app "Google Surveillance," Snowden wrote via Twitter that Google's latest piece of tech does not get his proverbial seal of approval, simply ending his comment with, "Don't use Allo."
Rather than deliver on 100% private messaging from the get-go, Allo logs your conversations in Google's servers. While this helps the app to make better use of its Google Assistant algorithm, it also potentially subjects them to search and/or seizure by the company itself, or law enforcement agencies.
Specifically, any information sent over the service is saved transiently. This means it remains saved on Google's servers until all recipients delete that particular message from their device's chat history.
Granted, this means that every text, picture, and voicemail sent over Allo won't necessarily wind up in Google's backlog until the end of time, but limiting what information others are privy to will take some coordination.
Is it secret? Is it safe?
Google already backpedaled a tad on Allo's privacy features in May, clarifying that encrypted messages must be turned on manually in the app's Incognito Mode. Thankfully for the privacy-minded, Incognito Mode still offers full encryption to those who opt into the feature after downloading Allo.
Private data in consumer tech elevated in the public eye in recent years following concerns of government surveillance programs and legal battles over granting law enforcement backdoor access to electronics - most notably Snowden's Prism uncovering in 2013 and last year's San Bernardino iPhone trial.
As demand for more secure messaging increases, however, more companies have begun offering the feature, to include Facebook reportedly working on the option for users to encrypt their Messenger app at the cost of chatbot functionality.
One of the biggest pushes for encryption on mobile messaging was this spring, when communication bigwig WhatsApp added full end-to-end encryption on any and all messages sent through its service, covering over a billion users in the process.
from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/1329138
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