Amazon has made the difficult decision to shut down its encrypted messaging app Wickr Me. The company is no longer accepting new users and will shut down the service completely by the end of the year. In an announcement, Wickr shared that it is fully shifting its focus to providing secure communication solutions for enterprise customers.
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Just two years after acquiring the app Wickr Me, Amazon has decided to shut it down.
Wickr Me has been a leader in encrypted messaging since its founding in 2012. In June 2021, it was acquired by Amazon, which planned to integrate Wickr’s services into AWS, Amazon Web Services. With this move, the retail giant aimed to securely revolutionize its IT arm while providing more secure communication systems for all its users. Wickr’s encrypted messaging products, designed for both individual and enterprise customers, were quickly integrated into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) portfolio. This offered customers remote work solutions with protection for text, voice, video, file sharing, and more. In order to ensure a secure experience across all services offered by AWS – Wickr took it upon itself to provide its strong security measures!
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Despite its integration with AWS, Wickr still offered its consumer-focused messaging app, Wickr Me. But that’s all changing now. In order to focus on “securing customer data and communication” through its two enterprise products: AWS Wickr and Wicker Enterprise, the company is discontinuing support for the single-user version of Wickr Me. For businesses that currently use it to communicate with external users outside their corporate network, don’t worry! Internal functionality will be enabled as part of these new product offerings , so you can continue to do just that!
If you’re a Wickr Me user, it’s time to start looking for alternatives. You can explore these top encrypted messaging apps available on Android devices. Unfortunately, after December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively, Wickr Me will no longer accept new users or provide its service in its entirety – but it will provide more information about data protection in the coming months .
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Wickr has faced significant criticism for its contractual agreements with government agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection and the military. However, Amazon's official press release announcing the termination of Wickr Me made no mention of any of these controversies – simply stating that it was a strategic decision focused on end-to-end encrypted corporate communications.
Encrypted apps offer a great way for users to keep their conversations private and safe from prying eyes, but they also come with certain risks and limitations. Before deciding if an encrypted app is right for you, it's important to carefully weigh all the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision about what's best for your needs.
Information source: androidheadlines.com
