Tech
Wickr Me Is Shutting Down Its Free Encrypted Messaging App Next Year
(CTN NEWS) – Wickr Me- The free encrypted messaging software that Amazon Web Services owns, will be discontinued on December 31, 2023.
Wickr announced on its website that it would stop accepting new user registrations on December 31, 2022, and then shut down entirely the next year.
Wickr’s free encrypted messaging app is shutting down next year: Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Wickr Me, the free encrypted messaging app owned by Amazon Web Services, is shutting down on December 31st, 2023. In a post on its website, Wickr… https://t.co/gr5v76tJfP pic.twitter.com/1E6meOJVH7
— Dave Michels (@DaveMichels) November 20, 2022
AWS bought Wickr last year and began integrating the premium edition of the encrypted messaging app into its business-oriented services.
Wickr AWS, the current version of the app, as well as Wickr Enterprise, won’t be discontinued.
The closure affects only the consumer-facing Wickr Me, which is frequently used by journalists, leakers, and other people who want to keep their communications private.
Although NBC News reported in June that the app is “a go-to destination” for people who wish to share photographs of child sex abuse, more recent reports indicate that the app has become a platform for criminals.
Additionally, it has already been linked to serving as a nexus for drug sellers who have been kicked off the dark web.
The post states, “We have chosen to terminate our consumer product, Wickr Me, and will be concentrating Wickr’s focus on safeguarding our commercial.
And public sector customers’ data and conversations with AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise.
We are also aware that some of our clients in the public and private sectors use Wickr to connect with people outside their network. We’re working to make this possible on AWS Wickr as well.”
Even while Signal is phasing out support for SMS on Android, which is unfortunate if you used the app as your main communicator.
There are still many other free encrypted messaging apps you may use in place of Wickr Me, such as Telegram.
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