WhatsApp’s new end-to-end encryption means that the only people who can read your messages are you and the person that you’re chatting with.

Last night, I was chatting with a friend from home via WhatsApp, when a message appeared within my chat informing me that my messages and calls in WhatsApp were now secured with end-to-end encryption.

What is end-to-end encryption?

Think of encryption as a high-tech form of scrambled eggs — when you send messages, make a call, or send photos or videos with the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are randomly mixed and secured. Only the person receiving your message has the key to unscramble your message so that it can be read. This makes it impossible for hackers, governments and even WhatsApp itself to access any of your messages. In the case that messages are intercepted by criminals or authorities, encryption renders messages unreadable to the unauthorized viewers.