Amazon is shutting down its encrypted messaging app Wickr Me. The corporate has already stopped accepting new customers and can fully discontinue the service on the finish of this 12 months. In an official announcement, Wickr mentioned it plans to focus its sources on encrypted communication options for enterprise customers.
Amazon shuts down Wickr Me simply a few years after buying it
Wickr Me is a well-liked identify within the encrypted messaging area. Based in 2012, Amazon acquired the corporate in June 2021. The retailer large mentioned it plans to include Wickr’s messaging companies into its IT arm Amazon Internet Companies (AWS). Since Wickr already provided encrypted messaging merchandise for particular person clients and enterprises, its companies had been obtainable for AWS clients instantly. The latter offers distant work options and different cloud companies with help for textual content, voice, and video communications, file sharing, and extra. Wickr helped Amazon make these communications safer.
Regardless of this integration with AWS, Wickr continued to supply its consumer-facing messaging app Wickr Me. However that’s altering now. The corporate is pulling the plug on Wickr Me saying it needs to focus on “securing our enterprise and public sector clients’ knowledge and communications” with its AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise merchandise. These merchandise are geared towards enterprise customers. For companies that use Wickr Me to speak with particular person customers outdoors their enterprise community, Wickr says it would allow this inside AWS Wickr.
In the meantime, in you employ Wickr Me to speak together with your family and friends, it’s about time you search for options. You possibly can verify these finest encrypted messaging apps for Android. Wickr Me stopped accepting new customers on December 31, 2022 and can shut down the service on December 31, 2023. The corporate says it would give you extra details about defending your knowledge within the coming months.
Wickr Me was surrounded by controversies currently
Wickr Me is shutting down amid mounting controversies and court docket instances. In accordance with an NBC Information report from June final 12 months, the ultra-secure messaging app was concerned in 72 instances regarding youngster sexual abuse or youngster pornography up to now 5 years within the US, the UK, and Australia. Furthermore, for the reason that platform lets customers join with none probably figuring out info akin to a cellphone quantity, it’s a favourite for drug sellers, terrorists, hacking teams, and different criminals in addition to security-minded journalists. There have been studies of terrorist organizations utilizing Wickr Me as a recruitment instrument.
Wickr’s contracts with authorities companies akin to Customs and Border Safety and army teams have additionally been topic to scrutiny since Amazon acquired the corporate. Nevertheless, the official press launch asserting this impending shutdown of Wickr Me doesn’t contact any of this. It merely says the transfer is to give attention to end-to-end encrypted enterprise communications.