Document shows how FBI can access your data on WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, others

Having end-to-end encryption may not be enough cover for privacy when using popular encrypted messaging applications, because law enforcement can access your data when they want to. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document prepared on January 7 has provided the kinds of user data various secure messaging apps can share at the request of law enforcement agencies. Titled “Lawful Access,” the one-page document detailed the “FBl’s ability to legally access secure messaging app content and metadata.” The “unclassified” document designated as “for official use only” and “law enforcement sensitive” was prepared by the FBI’s science and technology branch and operational technology division. According to Rolling Stone, which first reported on it, the document was obtained by a group called Property of the People through an FOIA request. It is an internal guide to how the FBI can snoop on targets using data requested from nine companies and their services: Apple’s iMessage, Line, Signal, Telegram, Threema, Viber, Tencent’s WeChat, Meta’s WhatsApp and Wickr. Information accessible include subscriber data, messenger sender-receiver data, device backup, IP address, encryption keys, date/time information, registration time information and user contacts. All but one (IP address) of iMessage can be accessed by the FBI. For WhatsApp,…
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