Edward Snowden warns against using Google’s Allo messaging app

PanARMENIAN.Net - When Google announced its Allo messaging app at its I/O conference in May, it indicated that it would take privacy a step forward.

Not only would the app feature end-to-end encryption, but the company also discussed fresh message retention procedures - messages were tipped to be stored only 'transiently' rather than permanently.

So what happened when the app was released this week?

Google performed a 180-degree flip on some of those features - a move which led whistleblower Edward Snowden to denounce the Allo app on social media, Digital Spy said.

Linking to an article outlining the U-turn on privacy practices from The Verge, Snowden said: "What is #Allo? A Google app that records every message you ever send and makes it available to police upon request."

While we're not confident the search giant will be rolling with that tag line for its app promotion any time soon, it's important to note that Allo still offers around the same security as other chat applications, Digital Spy said.

The problem comes with who the data is readily available to, with Snowden indicating that obtaining a subpoena to access the chat is a snip for US government agencies.

To avoid the message logging, users can still use the app's Incognito Mode, which is fully end-to-end encrypted and remains unchanged from the May announcement.