Wickr begins selling security tech to app developers

Wickr has found a way to monetize without selling out its mission to provide privacy and security

In the wake of the NSA scandal, self-destructing messages services like Services like Wickr and Snapchat have become more and more popular and, likely, necessary.

These services are all about privacy, so it would seem odd, and more than a little hypocritical, if they suddenly started to sell their user's information to advertisers. The problem is, though, that these companies do eventually have to make money, and they have to do it in a way that does not selling out their core mission.

Now Wickr has figured out how to do: by selling its technology to other developers.

The company unveiled its Security Suite on Wednesday, under which it will be licensing out its patented technology to other social media and messaging apps. The suite includes six key features for developers to enhance the security of their own apps:

• Timer, which "allows any app to have self-destructing" data by letting users to choose how long they will let the recipient see the message before it deletes

• Friend Finder, which is a way to find people without having to store their data into a contact book.

• Anti Spammer, which is exactly what it sounds like

• Key Manager, or Perfect Forward Secrecy, which allows a different key to be sent for every message, which is makes every message truly private

• Anonymizer, which deletes metadata and does not collect UDID. This will also allows apps to legally offer their services to kids under the age of 13. 

• Schredder, which not only deletes the photo buy cleanses the record of it from the user's phone

VatorNews has reached out to Wickr to find out more and will update the story accordingly. 

Founded in 2012, Wickr's priority, as I said before, is to provide way for anyone to send encrypted messages without a trace.

So how secure are the messages that are sent over Wickr? Many of the features in its Security Suite can be found on the app as well.

The messages are secured with military-grade encryption, and they can only be decrypted by the recipient (Wickr can’t decrypt the messages). Also, the sender decides who sees the message, at what time, where, and for how long, and the app deletes metadata like location, time, identification, and edits.

The files you delete from your device are then “forensically shredded” to completely erase files from your device. Naturally, it’s anonymous, meaning Wickr gathers no information on you, and it’s integrated with Box, DropBox, and Google Files, so you can send PDFs and other files securely.

The company now serves up over a million self-destructing messages a day in over 190 countries.

Earlier this month, Wickr raised $9 million in Series A funding from Gilman Louie of Alsop Louie, Juniper Networks and Knight Foundation.

(Image source: mashable.com)