A group of former Skype technologists, supported by the co-founder of the messaging platform, has introduced a new version of its own messaging service that promises a complete encryption in all conversations, including video.
Wire, an emerging company of 50 people comprised mostly of engineers, is entering a global political debate about codification as it faces privacy and safety advocates, exemplified by the controversy between the US government and Apple .
The company said on Thursday it was adding video calls to a package of private communication services that go beyond existing messaging providers.
Rivals such as Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger of Telegram offer encryption or only in parts of the path of a message or a specific set of services, the company said.
Wire, which is based in Switzerland, retransmits communications through its computer network in the cloud, but the conversations of users are stored in their own devices in encrypted form.
It provides privacy protections that are always active, even when callers use multiple devices such as a phone or desktop PC at the same time.