The main way people add contacts on Wickr is by entering a friend's email or phone number which is hashed locally and then checked against a database of hashed identifiers. An intel agency could presumably build a rainbow table by trying every known phone/email, and then they can track meta-data and interactions.<p>Many of their investors, advisors, and C-level execs seem to be part of the revolving door Valley-D.C. culture. I doubt they're expecting to accomplish anything radical. Nico's probably most honest when she says their goal is to be the number one messaging app and that privacy is currently fashionable. I don't doubt they offer at least improved privacy over e.g. Facebook, especially considering their Terms of Use conditions. But I think they are pretty plainly selling the image of privacy instead of actually useful/innovative tools.
Something about her attitude towards privacy reminds me of Fravia: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia</a>
"Trust me, Wickr is secure". Right.<p>Until I can see the source and build the app myself, I'll assume Wickr is just another government op.
<i>“You know what, Mom? Those problems don’t exist anymore. It’s obvious that girls are smarter at math and science.”</i><p>So she decided that, since people aren't saying that girls are inferior anymore, she should declare that boys are inferior.