Verify means to verify and verify your identity. In the last 5 years, this process has been actively practicing Internet resources and services. A good example is work with payment systems and online banking. For example, by linking a bank card to the Yandex.Money portal or PayPal, you need to go through the verification process. Not so long ago, a similar procedure was introduced into their product by the owners of the popular Viber messenger. Later in the article we will talk more about encryption and what “contact verification” means.
Communication via Viber has become safer
Not so long ago, in April 2016, the named company followed the example of its main competitors WhatsApp and installed a new security feature on the software - end-to-end encryption. The first countries in which it was used: Belarus, Thailand, Brazil, Israel, but literally in 2 weeks all users of Viber were provided with a new protection system. The encryption system works on devices:
- Android
- iOS
- Mac
- PCs.
This update was carefully developed by the company’s specialists for several years, as Michael Shmilov (the company's operations director ) told reporters in due time.
What is protection and what are the benefits to customers?
First, a little about what benefits the user receives. This is, first of all, encryption of correspondence and content. In addition, the user will be able to verify the contact in Viber. What this means can be said in a nutshell: this function will additionally protect against account hacking. Implemented and the ability to hide the chat. Further, a little more detail about each innovation.
End-to-end encryption will hide your personal correspondence and general conversations from getting to third parties. This applies not only to hackers and employees of the developer, but even special services. All content that is transmitted through Viber is encrypted:
- group correspondence;
- personal dialogues;
- voice calls
- video calls
- photo materials transmitted through the program;
- Forwarded video materials.
Updates are introduced in Viber 6.0, so those who have it installed can be calm about the safety of personal data.
Now in the chat menu there is a “hide chat” function. You can access it only knowing the password that the gadget owner sets. Thus, personal correspondence is even more protected.
"Viber" was inspired by the example of social networks and introduced the ability to put likes under photos and videos. Now, even without leaving the viewing mode, you can mark a photo or image that you liked.
Another important step towards information security is the ability to verify. This means that the contacts in Viber are only trusted. We will talk about this process in more detail.
How verification works
The development was conceived by the creators as a reliable tool in the fight against spam and unwanted contacts in the messenger. Thanks to this new feature, you can not worry about constantly annoying ads, and even more so about suspicious spam or even viral links.
For the convenience of users, the developers have provided two stages before verifying the contact. This means that you can choose whether to view the message, or better to immediately block the contact. The second stage takes effect if you decide to inquire about the content of the message. In this case, a choice of 3 scenarios:
- spam complaint button;
- just blocking an unwanted user;
- Add a contact to your list.
Thus, the flow of spam to the messenger is minimized, and the likelihood of an account hacking is reduced.
Conclusion
To date, the number of Viber customers has exceeded 700 million people who are scattered around the world. It is only slightly inferior to WhatsApp. Current updates have made Viber more secure, and users need not worry about protecting privacy. Now, in order to communicate freely, the contact needs to be verified. This means that, after going through a simple procedure, you can communicate with relatives and friends without difficulty, and it will protect you from intruders and spammers. Personal correspondence will always be safe, through the introduction of end-to-end encryption and hidden chats.