Wickr will stop registering new users on December 31, 2022 and shut down the service completely a year later.
Encrypted messaging service Wickr announces that it will shut down its free encrypted messaging app Wickr Me by the end of next year.
This is reported by the tech media TechCrunch.
Founded in 2011 and one of the first encrypted messaging services, Wickr was acquired in 2021 by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“After careful consideration, we will concentrate Wickr’s focus on securing our business and public customers’ data and communications with AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise, and we have decided to discontinue our consumer product Wickr Me,” reads the official announcement from AWS.
But now Wickr Me must be closed completely. However, there will be a phase-out period,
reads the message.
New users will have until December 31 to register
2022, while the app will be finally buried a year later – December 31, 2023.
Wickr states that the company’s products for authorities and companies will continue to exist and function as before.
Wickr Me was popular among journalists and whistleblowers as it ensured an end-to-end encryption of the messages. However, the service also became known over time to be used by less law-abiding citizens.
The closure of the app comes in the wake of criticism of Amazon because the messaging service has also been used for, among other things, drug dealing and sharing child pornography, reports TechCrunch.