--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In some ways, you can think of end-to-end…" description: "\"In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as honoring what the past looked like.\" — Jan Koum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png" --- # In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as… ![“In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as honoring what the past looked like.” quote by Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png) > “In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as honoring what the past looked like.” [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. End‑to‑end encryption mirrors past security standards, preserving privacy as technology evolves. **In simple terms:** Encryption protects privacy like older methods. Key Takeaway Adopt strong encryption. Themes privacy security technology Mood cautious optimistic Type technical informational When to use this quote - government surveillance - data breaches - communication platforms Key Concepts Cryptography history digital rights Questions to Reflect On - How does encryption balance privacy and safety? - What are the trade‑offs of strong security? A Different Perspective Encryption can hinder law enforcement investigations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encryption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encryption/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [So end-to-end encryption, keeps things encrypted and that means that law enforcement, without a warrant, cannot read that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-beckstrom/so-end-to-end-encryption-keeps-things-encrypted-and-that-means-that/) [Rod Beckstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-beckstrom/) > [Sure, end-to-end encryption means that whether it's a phone call we're on or an email message we're sending or any form of electronic communication,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-beckstrom/sure-end-to-end-encryption-means-that-whether-it-s-a-phone-call-we-re/) [Rod Beckstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-beckstrom/) > [“You work hard. What do I care about your past?” He looked her square in the eyes, sending a shiver down her back. “I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bolryder/you-work-hard-what-do-i-care-about-your-past-he-looked-her-square-in/) [Terry Bolryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bolryder/) > [I believe accurately remembering - and honoring - our whole past is the first step in governing in a way that effectively represents the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-duckworth/i-believe-accurately-remembering-and-honoring-our-whole-past-is-the/) [Tammy Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-duckworth/) > [I think that we honor ourselves by honoring our past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/i-think-that-we-honor-ourselves-by-honoring-our-past/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it. For example, you can acknowledge and learn from mistakes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-a-fine-balance-between-honoring-the-past-and-losing-yourself-2/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-a-fine-balance-between-honoring-the-past-and-losing-yourself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The encryption genie is out of the bottle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/the-encryption-genie-is-out-of-the-bottle/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [I think it's interesting because the 1990s ended with the government pretty much giving up. There was a recognition that encryption was important. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/i-think-it-s-interesting-because-the-1990s-ended-with-the-government/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [The new iPhone encryption does not stop them from accessing copies of your pictures or whatever that are uploaded to, for example, Apple's cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-new-iphone-encryption-does-not-stop-them-from-accessing-copies-of/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Clipper took a relatively simple problem, encryption between two phones, and turned it into a much more complex problem, encryption between two phones but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/clipper-took-a-relatively-simple-problem-encryption-between-two/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [Without encryption, you and I wouldn't be able to do our banking online. We wouldn't be able to buy things online, because your credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/without-encryption-you-and-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-do-our-banking/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [“Encryption matters, and it is not just for spies and philanderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/encryption-matters-and-it-is-not-just-for-spies-and-philanderers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [There are two types of encryption: one that will prevent your sister from reading your diary and one that will prevent your government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/there-are-two-types-of-encryption-one-that-will-prevent-your-sister/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Jan Koum > [Clearly, you can't believe everything you read in the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/clearly-you-can-t-believe-everything-you-read-in-the-press/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [A lot of companies are global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/a-lot-of-companies-are-global/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/whatsapp-s-extremely-high-user-engagement-and-rapid-growth-are-driven/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [I only have one idea, that is WhatsApp, and I am going to continue to focus on that. I have no plans to build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/i-only-have-one-idea-that-is-whatsapp-and-i-am-going-to-continue-to/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [A lot of times, people start out with a lot of good ideas, but then they don't execute. They lose the purity of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/a-lot-of-times-people-start-out-with-a-lot-of-good-ideas-but-then/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [Facebook, Google, Apple, Yahoo - there's a common theme. None of these companies ever sold. By staying independent, they were able to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/facebook-google-apple-yahoo-there-s-a-common-theme-none-of-these/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/no-one-wakes-up-excited-to-see-more-advertising-no-one-goes-to-sleep/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [I had so much fun in early days learning about networking, security, scalability and other geeky stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/i-had-so-much-fun-in-early-days-learning-about-networking-security/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [The difficult part for us is adding features without making the product more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/the-difficult-part-for-us-is-adding-features-without-making-the/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [We continue to grow, and, just like with countries like China or other countries where we are not doing particularly well, we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-continue-to-grow-and-just-like-with-countries-like-china-or-other/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [It's important for people to have freedom to use whatever product they want. We have no problems with other people using other apps, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/it-s-important-for-people-to-have-freedom-to-use-whatever-product/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [We're obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-re-obsessed-with-making-sure-that-voice-and-video-work-well-even/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [The F-word here is focus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/the-f-word-here-is-focus/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [We're not interested in bombarding our users with, 'Hey, play this game, play this game, play this game.' It gets annoying, it gets in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-re-not-interested-in-bombarding-our-users-with-hey-play-this-game/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [Everybody I meet who uses 'WhatsApp', I ask them a question: 'How did you hear about it?' And they say, 'My friends, my sister…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/everybody-i-meet-who-uses-whatsapp-i-ask-them-a-question-how-did-you/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) [Explore all 72 Jan Koum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) ## More Encryption quotes > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [There are two types of encryption: one that will prevent your sister from reading your diary and one that will prevent your government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/there-are-two-types-of-encryption-one-that-will-prevent-your-sister/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [“Encryption matters, and it is not just for spies and philanderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/encryption-matters-and-it-is-not-just-for-spies-and-philanderers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Without encryption, you and I wouldn't be able to do our banking online. We wouldn't be able to buy things online, because your credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/without-encryption-you-and-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-do-our-banking/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Clipper took a relatively simple problem, encryption between two phones, and turned it into a much more complex problem, encryption between two phones but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/clipper-took-a-relatively-simple-problem-encryption-between-two/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [The new iPhone encryption does not stop them from accessing copies of your pictures or whatever that are uploaded to, for example, Apple's cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-new-iphone-encryption-does-not-stop-them-from-accessing-copies-of/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I think it's interesting because the 1990s ended with the government pretty much giving up. There was a recognition that encryption was important. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/i-think-it-s-interesting-because-the-1990s-ended-with-the-government/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [You don't need to be a spook to care about encryption. If you travel with your computer or keep it in a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-spook-to-care-about-encryption-if-you-travel/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [The government does things like insisting that all encryption programs should have a back door. But surely no one is stupid enough to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-government-does-things-like-insisting-that-all-encryption/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Encryption would help prevent a lot of cyber attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/encryption-would-help-prevent-a-lot-of-cyber-attacks/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [On balance, the use of encryption, just like the use of good locks on doors, has the net effect of preventing a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/on-balance-the-use-of-encryption-just-like-the-use-of-good-locks-on/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [So, in 1993, in what was probably the first salvo of the first Crypto War, there was concern coming from the National Security Agency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blaze/so-in-1993-in-what-was-probably-the-first-salvo-of-the-first-crypto/) [Matt Blaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blaze/) > [ \[Eric\]Goldman \[a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law\] says back in the 1990s, courts began to confront the question of whether software… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-sydell/eric-goldman-a-professor-at-santa-clara-university-school-of-law-says/) [Laura Sydell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-sydell/) > [It seems that 'national security' is the root password to the Constitution. As with any dishonest superuser, the best countermeasure is strong encryption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-karn/it-seems-that-national-security-is-the-root-password-to-the/) Phil Karn > [In the years preceding my imprisonment, I worked as a software programmer, designing and developing web interfaces, secure databases, and communication software; later, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/in-the-years-preceding-my-imprisonment-i-worked-as-a-software/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) [Browse all 85 Encryption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encryption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as honoring what the past looked like.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jan Koum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end-encryption-as-honoring-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Encryption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end-encryption-as-honoring-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/jan-koum-9456_encryption_in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end_1049625.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In some ways, you can think of end-to-end encryption as honoring what the past looked like.” — Jan Koum", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jan Koum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In some ways, you can think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end-encryption-as-honoring-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/in-some-ways-you-can-think-of-end-to-end-encryption-as-honoring-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```