WhatsApp is ‘more private and secure than iMessage’: Mark Zuckerberg

A WhatsApp ad on display in New York City (Image credit: zuck/Facebook)

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg is pitting his company’s messaging service WhatsApp as competition to Apple’s iMessage by emphasising privacy. “WhatsApp is far more private and secure than iMessage,”Zuckerberg  said in a Facebook post Monday.

He noted that WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages – which iMessage does not.

He also poked fun at the green bubble-blue bubble divide by sharing a picture of a Meta ad that, according to The Verge, is currently on display at Pennsylvania Station in New York City. On the Apple-exclusive iMessage service, messages from Android users appear in a green bubble instead of blue.

“WhatsApp is far more private and secure than iMessage, with end-to-end encryption that works across both iPhones and Android, including group chats,” wrote Mark Zuckerberg. “With WhatsApp you can also set all new chats to disappear with the tap of a button. And last year we introduced end-to-end encrypted backups too. All of which iMessage still doesn't have.”

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, also spoke about WhatsApp’s increased emphasis on the importance of end-t0-end encryption.

“We’re expanding the marketing campaign we started back in January to tell people in the U.S. about the importance of end-to-end encryption. 5.5 billion SMS messages are still sent daily in the U.S., but SMS messages aren’t secure,” he said in a Twitter thread.

On WhatsApp, end-to-end encryption is automatic, and it works whether you - or your friends - are using iPhones or Androids, including for group chats, so you can count on your messages and calls being securely delivered to the person you're communicating with.

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) October 17, 2022

Earlier this year, WhatsApp set its sight on growing its user base in the United States. This ad campaign is part of its efforts to get more Americans to switch to WhatsApp. The ads “will appear on broadcast TV, digital video, outdoor, and social across the United States,” spokesperson Vispi Bhopti told The Verge.