Wickr is an American software company based in New York City,[1] known for its instant messenger application of the same name. The Wickr instant messaging apps allow users to exchange end-to-end encrypted and content-expiring messages, and are designed for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Wickr was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) mid-2021 and shut down the free version of the app in December 2023.
History
Wickr was founded in 2012.[2] Nico Sell served as the company's CEO until May 2015. She then became the co-chairman of Wickr and CEO of Wickr Foundation, the newly launched nonprofit whose seed funding was provided by the company.[3] Mark Fields, who previously led CME's Strategic Investment Group, became the company's CEO.[4] He remained CEO until November 2016, when he was replaced by Joel Wallenstrom, co-founder of iSec Partners, becoming the company's CEO and President.[5][6]
AWS acquired the company on 25 June 2021,[7] stopped accepting new users to Wickr Me on 31 December 2022, and discontinued that service on 31 December 2023.[8][9]
Branding
The Wickr name and original logo were created by the Spanish artist Joan Bofill in 2012. In 2016, Daylight Design created a new logo and visual identity for the company.
Wickr is known for producing secure messaging software, such as "Wickr Me". Their software received media coverage due to a security issue at a rival messaging company, Snapchat.[15]
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave Wickr a score of 5 out of 7 points on their "Secure Messaging Scorecard".[16] It received points for:
having communications encrypted in transit,
having communications encrypted with keys the provider didn't have access to (end-to-end encryption),
making it possible for users to independently verify their correspondent's identities,
having past communications secure if the keys were stolen (forward secrecy),
and having completed a recent independent security audit.
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that Wickr earned four stars (out of five) in every applicable category for its effort to protect user privacy.[18]
Security programs
Since its launch, Wickr has undergone regular security audits by information security organizations, which have verified Wickr's code, security, and policies.[19] Wickr has also launched a bug bounty program that offers a reward to hackers who can find a vulnerability in the app.[20]
In December 2016, Wickr announced Wickr Professional, a new business collaboration and communication product designed to couple the functionality of tools like Slack with end-to-end encryption and ephemerality.[21]
In February 2017, Wickr opened one of its crypto protocols for public review on GitHub and published a paper, “The Wickr Messaging Protocol”, as an aid to those who wish to review the source code.[22][23][24] At the time of its publication, the crypto protocol was only used in the company's enterprise product, Wickr Professional.[23] The company said that its consumer product, Wickr Messenger, still uses another protocol and that they intend to replace this protocol with the one that they published.[23]
Expiring messages
Initially unveiled on iOS and later on Android, the Wickr Me app allows users to set an expiration time for encrypted communications.[25] In December 2014, Wickr released a desktop version of its secure communications platform. The release of the desktop Wickr app coincided with introducing the ability to sync messages across multiple devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers.[26]
Use by elected officials related to public disclosure requirements
Government transparency advocates note that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's use of Wickr destroys government records before any determination of whether they should be public can be made, under the Freedom of Information Act and state law.[27]
Gilman Louie is the former CEO of In-Q-Tel, and other investors, including Richard Clarke and Michael Wertheimer, also have close ties to the U.S. intelligence and national security communities. It is also known that Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater, is one of the principal investors.[31]
Wickr Foundation
The Wickr Foundation is a non-profit founded by Wickr founder Nico Sell.[32]
The foundation operates a social-impact venture fund with a global mission to advance the Private Web and transform how society uses the Internet.[33] In addition to educating the public on privacy and information security, Wickr Foundation is focused on incubating and investing in ideas that revolutionize user control and empower data ownership.[34]
The foundation is dedicated to providing information security and privacy training to human rights activists, policy-makers, children, and journalists, and leads several initiatives to raise global awareness of privacy and encourage the development of security-enhancing technologies.[35][36]
