US spying fuels popularity of secure messaging app Wickr
By Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco
Wickr, the secure messaging app that positions itself “halfway between Snapchat and Snowden”, is set to raise more funds and launch a major update on Monday after its popularity soared following revelations of a US mass surveillance programme.
The Silicon Valley start-up enables encrypted peer-to-peer communications from email to instant messaging while keeping no data whatsoever. It plans to rival Skype by rolling out secure and private international video calling next year.
According to a person familiar with the matter the company has raised its funds from Gilman Louie, a venture capitalist who used to run the CIA fund In-Q-Tel. The company’s advisory board includes Ambassador Joseph De Trani, who used to work for the CIA and was a special envoy to the North Korean peace talks.
Nico Sell, co-founder and chief executive of Wickr, said the year-and-a-half-old company had seen an extreme spike in interest after revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programme were published earlier this year.
Privacy-conscious users including some journalists had adopted the app but the number of downloads more than doubled after the leaks from Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor.
“George Washington would be rolling over in his grave right now,” said Ms Sell, adding many of her friends who used to think she was paranoid about security were now leaving social networks such as Facebook.
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