Amazon is shutting down the app for millions of users forever — and there’s nothing you can do

AMAZON’s own messaging app will be discontinued next year.

The company’s Wickr service will be closed permanently to the general public at the end of 2023.

1

It’s not clear why the retail giant is abandoning the Wickr Me app, which was popular with journalists and whistleblowers for its end-to-end encryption.

Self-destructing messages like Snapchat and WhatsApp were also a feature.

The company operates two other versions of Wickr – Wickr Enterprise and AWS Wickr – which are unaffected by the change.

These are instead intended for businesses, government agencies, and military organizations.

While users have just over a year left to continue using Wickr Me, new users don’t have long to join, making the app significantly less useful much earlier than the final cut-off date.

Interested parties have until December 31, 2022 to open an account – after that, new registrations will be permanently blocked.

The shutdown comes after that reports emerged claiming Wickr Me had become a “go-to place” for pedophiles to share abuse pictures.

“After careful consideration, we will refocus Wickr’s focus on securing our business and public customers’ data and communications with AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise and have decided to discontinue our consumer product Wickr Me,” the company said.

“As a result, we will not be accepting user registrations for Wickr Me after December 31, 2022 and will be retiring Wickr Me on December 31, 2023.”

Wickr Me users can expect information on how to preserve their data “in the coming months,” the company added.

Wickr was founded in 2012.

It was only acquired by Amazon’s AWS (Amazon Web Services) in 2021.

The best tips and hacks for phones and gadgets

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find these secret features in social media apps? We’ve got you covered…

Get the latest news about WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other tech gadgets here.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science Team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk