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Secret chat in Viber. Secret chat in Viber

Following a similar path to the WhatsApp developers, they integrated full end-to-end encryption into their messenger, which implies storing private encryption keys on users’ devices. Unlike WhatsApp, which uses an implementation of the Double Ratchet algorithm from Open Whisper Systems (Signal) as its end-to-end encryption protocol, the authors of Viber wrote its implementation from scratch. In this case, text messages, calls, and transferred files sent between users are encrypted. The function is available to users starting from Viber 6.0.

Starting with Viber 6.0, all of Viber's core features are secured with end-to-end encryption: calls, one-on-one messages, group messages, media sharing and secondary devices. This means that the encryption keys are stored only on the clients themselves and no one, not even Viber itself, has access to them. Viber"s protocol uses the same concepts of the “double ratchet" protocol used in Open Whisper Systems Signal application, however, Viber"s implementation was developed from scratch and does not share Signal's source code.

To organize end-to-end encryption, each client uses a pair of keys: public and private. This pair of 256-bit Curve-25519 encryption algorithm keys (key ID) for the Viber client is generated when installing the messenger on the main device. The public part of the key is sent to the Viber server, and the private part is stored on the client’s device to decrypt incoming messages. Other devices that work with this Viber account also receive a copy of the private key from the main device using a special cryptographic algorithm.

Viber establishes a secure connection with all customer devices when they want to exchange messages. This means that if one party has the messenger installed on their main device, PC and tablet, and the other party also uses it on several devices, a secure connection will be established between each of the devices of the opposite parties.

To send a secure message, secure sessions must exist between the sending device and all the recipient"s devices, as well as between the sending device and all the sender"s other devices. So for example, if user A that has a mobile phone and a PC registered to Viber under the same account wishes to communicate with user B that has a mobile phone and a PC, secure sessions must be established between each pair of devices.

To use this encryption feature, users should update their Viber app to the latest version.

For more information about Viber encryption, see

What is secret chat

Secret chat in Viber is designed for secret communication. Access to messages will be denied to both unauthorized persons and the company server. Using this function, you can calmly discuss the most important and intimate issues related to work factors and personal life. Even if your gadget falls into the wrong hands, you don’t have to worry that someone will steal an interesting idea or find out confidential information; the application will delete the correspondence automatically after the time you set.

Viber also has a concept - this is not the same as a secret chat.

Let's figure out how secret chat works in Viber. A special coding and protection technique is used for such dialogues. They are marked with a lock icon. The user himself sets the time after which the letters are destroyed. Unlike simple conversations, you cannot delete some messages here; the correspondence is completely deleted.

How to find a secret chat in Viber? You can find a dialogue by scrolling through all conversations from beginning to end. But there is no point in looking for it, since all messages are deleted, and only empty windows remain, which take up space on the device and arouse suspicion if they are discovered by strangers. This is a flaw of the creators. We hope that the problems will be resolved in the near future.

Invisible dialogues have their own characteristics:

  • Viber secrets are available to owners of devices with the operating system and;
  • it is possible to set the option to self-destruct messages, starting from 1 minute and up to a week;
  • if the interlocutor takes a screenshot of the correspondence, you will receive a notification about this and will be able to resolve the situation;
  • texts cannot be copied and forwarded to third parties;
  • End-to-end encryption will protect Viber secrets on the phone, since only the one who sends and receives can decrypt them.

Now you know what a secret chat in Viber is and you can be sure that it can store.

How to create a secret chat

Many users are wondering: how to create a secret chat in Viber? There are two ways this can be done, and they are all quite simple.

  • go to the application;
  • go to the contacts section;
  • select the person you need by scrolling or through search and click on him;
  • click on the line “Free message”;
  • in the open dialog box, select the icon with three vertical dots;
  • Click "Go to secret chat."
  • open the messenger;
  • click on the “+” icon in the blue circle, which is located in the lower right corner of the monitor;
  • select the line “Secret chat”;
  • add an interlocutor from the list;
  • check "Done".

If you need to hide an existing conversation, follow these steps:

  • go to the dialogue section;
  • stop at the one you want to make secret;
  • open the auxiliary menu (three dots at the top of the display);
  • Click on the “Go to secret chat” item.

That's all! You have a hidden correspondence in Viber ready.

Delete messages in a secret conversation

After discussing an important topic, many are interested in how to disable secure chat in Viber. This is done like this:

  • go to a secret conversation with a picture of a castle;
  • click on the icon with three vertical dots located in the upper right corner to open additional information;
  • go to “Information and Settings”;
  • select the line “Go to regular chat”.

This way, you switch the private conversation to traditional mode, which will not delete messages. But there will still be two conversations on the device: one normal, the second with a lock. If the need for secret correspondence arises again, you can simply go to the existing one; for this, the PIN code is entered again.

If you are thinking about how to delete a secret chat from Viber altogether, there is nothing complicated about it either.

  • go to the list of conversations;
  • tap on an unwanted conversation and hold your finger on it;
  • in the window that appears, select the “Delete chat” line.

Now you know how to remove a secret chat in Viber if there is no longer a need for its secrecy or existence.

Not to be confused with hidden conversation

Some users make a mistake and enable hidden conversation. A hidden conversation differs from a secret conversation in that information is not deleted in it. If you discussed some important event that strangers should not know about, and you want to save the content, then you hide the dialogue using a special option.

04/25/2016, Mon, 09:32, Moscow time, Text: Pavel Lebedev

The Viber messenger, following its competitors, announced the launch of end-to-end encryption for messages and telephone conversations of its customers.


Viber has become safe

The owners of the Viber messenger and VoIP service announced the introduction of end-to-end encryption, which is available in the client program update (version 6.0) on various platforms - Android, iOS, PCs and Mac.

Residents of Brazil, Belarus, Israel and Thailand were the first to take advantage of the new data protection technology. Within two weeks, the geography will be expanded to other countries where Viber operates. According to the Viber COO Michael Shmilov(Michael Shmilov), the development of end-to-end encryption has been ongoing “for several years.”

How end-to-end protection works

The essence of end-to-end encryption technology is that the message is encrypted along the entire path from sender to recipient. The key with which the message can be decrypted is stored only by the recipient, so the owner of the messenger will not be able to transfer it to a third party even at the request of government authorities. “Viber will not provide access to correspondence in any country and under any circumstances. We take the same position as Apple and WhatsApp. The company has records of interactions between different phone numbers, but we do not have access to the content of messages or conversations,” Viber said.

Viber developers have provided several levels of protection. After activating the update using a QR code, an icon in the form of a lock appears on the right side of the screen, the color of which indicates the degree of security. Gray color indicates full data encryption, a green padlock appears if you select the option for additional user authentication when starting a new conversation. The red color warns of an attempt to intercept data, but also lights up if the interlocutor is using a new device.

In pursuit of competitors

Viber announced the implementation of end-to-end encryption technology less than a month after end-to-end encryption was introduced to WhatsApp, which has about 1 billion users and is the most popular instant messenger in the world.

Viber, following its competitors, announced the launch of end-to-end encryption

Viber is the second-largest instant messaging service by the number of accounts with a customer base of more than 700 million. Another widespread instant messenger, Telegram (more than 100 million users), has had an end-to-end encryption function since its release in 2013.

Technical details

The partner of competitors from WhatsApp in introducing a new feature was Open Whisper Systems, the developer of the Signal mobile application - a favorite messenger Edward Snowden(Edward Snowden), where data encryption is based on the Signal Protocol. Its peculiarity is that new keys are used for each session (unlike, for example, the PGP email encryption protocol, in which messages are encrypted over and over again with the same public key).

Viber representatives, unlike their WhatsApp colleagues, do not disclose technical details about the operation of their end-to-end protection mechanism. The company denied information about the use of the MD5 algorithm, which is considered unreliable, and said that “the encryption technology is based on an open-source protocol, supplemented by its own (in-house) developments.”

Probably, many beginners are interested in how to open a hidden chat in Viber, as well as what are these so-called hidden chats created for?

Purpose of hidden chats

Following some other instant messengers, Viber developers also decided to further ensure the confidentiality of communications for their users. Of course, enhanced encryption protocols still work just fine. But sometimes you need to hide correspondence not from the eyes of hackers, but from. for example, an annoying or overly nosy roommate. Or from parents.

And in this case, no encryption protocols will help. You can, of course, set a lock on your smartphone. Yes, this can also be very useful, but the so-called hidden chats in Viber are an additional guarantee that information will not fall into the wrong hands. The point is that all messages sent and received in such a chat cannot be read without knowing the secret PIN code. It is invented by the user himself. And in this way you can protect any chat by turning it into a secret one. In addition, such chats do not appear on the Chats page.

It’s as if they don’t exist at all; only the owner of the device knows about their existence. So, even if the phone is stolen, nothing from the correspondence in such a chat will be seen by prying eyes. When you receive a message inside a secret chat, a notification about who exactly it came from will not even appear on the screen. The system simply shows that a new message has arrived. That's all. You can turn any chat into a hidden chat. In the same way, any hidden one can be turned into a regular chat at any time.

How to open messages in hidden chat

As soon as a notification about a new received message appears on the screen, you can read it. To open a hidden chat, you will need:

  1. Open the Viber application;
  2. Go to the Chats section;
  3. Click on the on-screen button in the form of a magnifying glass (upper right corner);
  4. After which the system will prompt you to enter the previously invented PIN;
  5. If the code matches, then all hidden chats that are on the device will be displayed;
  6. You can start using them like regular chats.


If the PIN code is forgotten, then, alas, nothing can be done in this case. If you know how to view a hidden chat in Viber, as well as how to use this function in general, you can significantly expand your capabilities in terms of everyday use of this communication application.

Almost all developers of popular instant messengers have taken care of the security and anonymity of their users. It is these two criteria that become fundamental for most people when choosing a suitable program. The founders of Viber were no exception, and in 2016 they announced the introduction of a new feature into the application - end-to-end encryption, which translates as “end-to-end encryption”.

The essence of this technology is to continuously protect the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted information, which is achieved by encrypting it at the sender and decrypting it at the recipient. To access hidden chats, you just need to enter a special PIN code, and owners of iOS devices can authenticate using a fingerprint. This is a convenient method of protection that ensures that only the participants in the conversation have access to the original text of the message.

How end-to-end protection works

Viber encrypts not only text messages, but also calls, as well as files sent between users. To do this, each client uses a public and private key. They are generated automatically at the time of installation of the program on the devices of both parties. The public part of the key is sent to the Viber server, and the private part remains on the client’s mobile device to decrypt the received data. A similar principle is used to protect other devices working with this account.

Thus, no third party, including Viber itself, will be able to break the encryption and read the message or eavesdrop on the conversation.

The end-to-end protection feature works regardless of the device on which the application was installed. That is, if Viber is used on several devices at the same time, then a secure connection will be established on each of them.

In addition, in the new version of the Viber 6.0 messenger, users will be able to monitor the level of protection. So, for example, a gray icon in the chat window will mean that the sent information is encrypted, and a green lock will indicate constant monitoring of the contact’s authentication key. The red color of the lock will indicate a change in the main number of the interlocutor.

End-to-end encryption in Viber is not used on older versions of the application, so to experience the benefits of this feature, you should update it to the latest version.

Chat security

To ensure maximum protection when using the messenger, you need to follow some recommendations. These include:

  1. Timely updating of the application with each release of a new version. End-to-end chat protection is only possible with the current version of the program.
  2. Verification of contacts with whom you communicate regularly.
  3. Block messages from unknown senders. If necessary, there is always the possibility of later unlocking them.
  4. You should not open messages that seem suspicious.

It's important to note that end-to-end encryption only helps protect messages while they're in transit. Once the information has been delivered to the mobile device, anyone can view it on the device’s screen.

Encryption in Viber is a convenient mechanism for protecting online activity. This function ensures complete confidentiality of transmitted information of all types; with this encryption, messages are not decrypted by the server, the history is stored on the devices from which the correspondence was carried out.