Amazon has acquired encrypted messaging app Wickr

Amazon has announced to have acquired an encrypted messaging app, Wickr. The app will now be a part of Amazon’s cloud service (known as Amazon Web Services or AWS) and will offer services to AWS customers. This wouldn’t change anything for Wickr’s new and existing customers, according to Amazon, as they can continue to use the platform the way they do today.

We’re excited to share that AWS has acquired Wickr, an innovative company that has developed the industry’s most secure, end-to-end encrypted, communication technology. With Wickr, customers and partners benefit from advanced security features not available with traditional communications services – across messaging, voice and video calling, file sharing, and collaboration. This gives security conscious enterprises and government agencies the ability to implement important governance and security controls to help them meet their compliance requirements.

Wickr keeps all communications between employees and business partners private, while still remaining compliant with regulatory requirements. Stephen Schmidt, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for AWS wrote in a blog post:

The need for this type of secure communications is accelerating. With the move to hybrid work environments, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises and government agencies have a growing desire to protect their communications across many remote locations.

The deal was announced by both Amazon and Wickr, but the financial terms are undisclosed. Wickr is a San Francisco-based encrypted messaging platform established in 2012 that allows users to send and receive encrypted messages, videos, images, and more.