AWS' free Wickr Me end-to-end encrypted messaging service will close down at the end of 2023, as the company focuses its secure communications on enterprise and government contracts. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced late last week that it will close down the free Wickr Me encrypted messaging service, saying in a blog post that it plans to “refocus” on its related AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise products at the expense of the consumer wing of the Wickr family. Wickr has been in operation for a decade, making it one of the first end-to-end encrypted messaging apps on the market. Wickr Me was popular with journalists and whistleblowers alike as a method of secure communication of sensitive information, according to experts, but it was also alleged to be in wide use as a medium for illicit content like child sex abuse and drug transactions, according to a June report from NBC News. Amazon’s statement on the pending closure of Wickr Me doesn’t address those allegations directly, but it does emphasize a renewed focus on the enterprise and government versions of the app. Wickr is a relatively recent acquisition by Amazon, having started life in 2012 as a public-facing app before being purchased in the summer of 2021 by the hyperscaler. Amazon, at the time, indicated that the purchase was aimed at improving security for its many large organizational customers, who face growing threats given the shift to hybrid working. “Public sector customers use Wickr for a diverse range of missions, from securely communicating with office-based employees to providing service members at the tactical edge with encrypted communications,” said Steve Schmidt, AWS vice president and CISO, in a blog post at the time of the acquisition. “Wickr’s secure communications solutions help enterprises and government organizations adapt to this change in their workforces and is a welcome addition to the growing set of collaboration and productivity services that AWS offers customers and partners.” Wickr Me is still working at the moment, but will stop accepting new users at the end of December. The platform itself will remain in operation for one year after that, with Amazon planning to shut the system down completely on December 31, 2023. The company said in its statement today that it will provide details “in the coming months” on ways that current users can preserve their data from the Wickr Me platform. Related content news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 26, 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software feature Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15 Explore Android's ongoing evolution with this visual timeline of versions, starting B.C. (Before Cupcake) and going all the way to 2024's Android 15 (beta) release. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 23 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Android news analysis The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google's Gemini improvements Google's Gemini chatbot is seeing all sorts of upgrades on Android this week, but those advancements reveal a darker underlying reality. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 12 mins Google Assistant Google Android news analysis Google can’t seem to quit cookies, delays killing them again Google cited regulatory challenges in its oft-delayed plans to phase out third-party cookies from its Chromium products. It now plans to eliminate cookies in 2025 By Lucas Mearian Apr 25, 2024 5 mins Chrome Browser Security Chrome OS Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe