Wickr

Wickr was an American software company founded in 2012 and associated with a family of secure messaging applications. Its products were designed to let users exchange end-to-end encrypted text messages, files, voice communications, and video communications, with controls that could cause content to expire after a defined period. The company positioned privacy and security as central product attributes, serving individual users as well as organizations that needed protected internal communications and, in some configurations, communications with external guests. The company was founded by Nico Sell, who led it as chief executive until May 2015. Sell subsequently became co-chairman of Wickr and chief executive of the Wickr Foundation, a nonprofit initiative funded initially by the company. Mark Fields, formerly associated with CME Group’s Strategic Investment Group, became Wickr’s chief executive in 2015 and remained in that role until November 2016. He was succeeded by Joel Wallenstrom, co-founder of the security consultancy iSec Partners, who served as chief executive and president. Wickr attracted venture financing during 2014. Its announced Series A round totaled $9 million and was led by Gilman Louie of Alsop Louie Partners, with participation from Juniper Networks and the Knight Foundation. A later Series B round totaled $30 million and was led by Breyer Capital, with participation reported from CME Group and Wargaming. The company’s investor network and security focus later drew attention because In-Q-Tel, the venture investment organization associated with the Central Intelligence Agency, invested in Wickr. Reporting published in 2021 described a $1.6 million In-Q-Tel investment and noted connections between several investors and the United States national-security and intelligence communities. Wickr received public attention in the privacy and secure-messaging fields. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s 2015 Secure Messaging Scorecard credited Wickr with encryption in transit, end-to-end encryption designed so that the provider did not possess users’ keys, identity-verification functionality, forward secrecy, and a recent independent security audit. The assessment did not award points for open-source code or a fully documented security design. Wickr published a white paper describing its encryption protocol in 2015 and opened one of its cryptographic protocols for public review on GitHub in 2017, alongside a paper explaining the Wickr Messaging Protocol. The brand also became part of public debate about disappearing messages and government recordkeeping. Reports alleged that consultants and prison officials involved in work for the New York State Department of Corrections used Wickr to exchange project documents outside ordinary public oversight and records-request processes. Transparency advocates likewise criticized the use of Wickr by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, arguing that automatically expiring communications could destroy records before officials determined whether they were subject to disclosure obligations. Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021. Following the acquisition, AWS operated the consumer-oriented Wickr Me service for a limited period: new-user registration was stopped on December 31, 2022, and the service was discontinued on December 31, 2023. Wickr is therefore treated as a defunct standalone brand and company, although its technology and enterprise-oriented offerings became associated with AWS.

Wickr was founded in 2012 in the United States by Nico Sell as a company focused on secure digital communications. Its central proposition was that people and organizations should be able to exchange messages and files without exposing message contents to the service provider. Wickr applications combined end-to-end encryption with expiring-content controls, allowing users to specify how long communications should remain available. The product family included individual and organizational use cases, with enterprise configurations capable of supporting communications between an organization’s users and invited outside guests. The brand’s original name and logo were created in 2012 by Spanish artist Joan Bofill. In 2016, Daylight Design developed a new logo and visual identity. The company’s early growth was supported by venture financing. In March 2014, Wickr announced a $9 million Series A round led by Gilman Louie of Alsop Louie Partners, with Juniper Networks and the Knight Foundation also participating. Later in 2014, the company announced a $30 million Series B round led by Breyer Capital, with CME Group and Wargaming reported as participants. Sell served as chief executive until May 2015. After leaving the chief executive role, she became Wickr’s co-chairman and led the Wickr Foundation, a nonprofit established with seed funding from the company. Operating from 2015 through 2017, the foundation ran a social-impact venture fund whose stated global objective was to advance a more private form of the internet. Mark Fields, previously associated with CME Group’s Strategic Investment Group, became Wickr’s chief executive in 2015. In November 2016, Joel Wallenstrom replaced Fields as chief executive and president. Wallenstrom had co-founded the security consultancy iSec Partners. Wickr’s security claims received evaluation from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In its 2015 Secure Messaging Scorecard, Wickr received credit for encrypting communications in transit, using end-to-end encryption that did not give the provider access to encryption keys, supporting independent identity verification, providing forward secrecy, and having completed a recent independent security audit. The assessment did not award points for making the source code open to independent review or for fully documenting the security design. Wickr published a technical white paper about its encryption protocol in 2015. In February 2017, it made one cryptographic protocol available for public review through GitHub and published a paper intended to help reviewers understand the Wickr Messaging Protocol. The service’s disappearing-message model also generated criticism in the context of public records. Reports alleged that consultants and prison officials working on a New York State Department of Corrections project exchanged documents through Wickr in a manner that avoided normal public oversight and records-request procedures. Transparency advocates separately argued that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s use of Wickr could cause government communications to disappear before officials determined whether they were subject to disclosure under federal or state law. These controversies concerned the use of the technology and the consequences of automatic deletion rather than a finding that Wickr itself had violated a law. Wickr later attracted additional attention because of its investor relationships. In 2021, Vice Motherboard reported that In-Q-Tel had invested $1.6 million in the company. In-Q-Tel is a venture organization associated with the Central Intelligence Agency. The report also discussed investors and advisers with ties to intelligence and national-security institutions, including Gilman Louie, Richard Clarke, and Michael Wertheimer, as well as investor Erik Prince. The reporting intensified public interest in the relationship between encrypted communications providers and government or national-security institutions. Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021. After the acquisition, AWS continued the consumer Wickr Me service for a limited time. It stopped accepting new users on December 31, 2022, and ended the service on December 31, 2023. As a result, Wickr is no longer an active standalone consumer messaging company. Its historical significance rests on its role in secure messaging, its use of expiring content, its public engagement with cryptographic review, and the privacy and records-management questions associated with its technology.

1. 2023Wickr Me discontinued

   AWS discontinued the consumer Wickr Me service on December 31, 2023.

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2. 2022Wickr Me closes new-user registration

   AWS stopped accepting new Wickr Me users on December 31, 2022.

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3. 2021AWS completes acquisition

   Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021.

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4. 2017Cryptographic protocol opened for review

   Wickr published one cryptographic protocol on GitHub and released a paper explaining its messaging protocol.

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5. 2016New chief executive and brand identity

   Joel Wallenstrom became CEO and president, while Daylight Design created a revised logo and visual identity.

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6. 2015Leadership transition and foundation launch

   Nico Sell left the chief executive role, Mark Fields became CEO, and the Wickr Foundation was established.

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7. 2015Wickr publishes encryption protocol information

   The company released a white paper describing its end-to-end encryption protocol.

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8. 2014Series A and Series B financing announced

   Wickr announced two 2014 financing rounds, totaling $9 million in Series A and $30 million in Series B.

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9. 2012Wickr is founded

   Nico Sell founded Wickr as a company developing secure messaging applications.

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Privacy- and security-focused communication software for individuals, organizations, and users with a need for encrypted and controllable message retention.

• Wickr MeConsumer encrypted messaging

  Wickr Me was Wickr’s consumer-oriented messaging application. It supported encrypted communications and expiring content, helping users limit how long messages and shared material remained accessible. AWS stopped accepting new users at the end of 2022 and discontinued the service at the end of 2023.

• Wickr enterprise messagingEnterprise secure communications

  Wickr’s organizational messaging software was designed for protected communication among an organization’s users and, where enabled, invited external guests. Its feature set centered on end-to-end encrypted messages, file exchange, voice and video communications, and controls for expiring content. Specific product editions and current availability after the AWS acquisition are not established by the supplied sources.

• 2023Discontinue Wickr MeStrategy

  AWS had already closed Wickr Me to new users the previous year.

  What changed. AWS discontinued Wickr Me on December 31, 2023.

  Aftermath. The consumer Wickr Me product ceased operation, leaving the standalone brand’s current status unclear beyond the discontinued service.

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• 2022End new-user registration for Wickr MeStrategy

  AWS continued to operate Wickr Me for a period after acquiring Wickr.

  What changed. AWS stopped accepting new Wickr Me users on December 31, 2022.

  Aftermath. The consumer service remained available to existing users for a limited period before its final discontinuation.

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• 2021Sell Wickr to Amazon Web ServicesM&A

  Wickr had developed secure messaging products for consumer and organizational users and was operating as a private software company.

  What changed. Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021.

  Aftermath. Wickr became part of AWS. The consumer Wickr Me service later stopped accepting new users and was discontinued.

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• 2017Open a cryptographic protocol for public reviewStrategy

  External review was important to Wickr’s credibility as a secure-messaging provider.

  What changed. Wickr placed one cryptographic protocol on GitHub and published an accompanying paper on the Wickr Messaging Protocol.

  Aftermath. The move increased the material available for public technical review without making the entire product source code open source.

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• 2015Publish technical information about encryptionStrategy

  Wickr’s privacy positioning depended on user and expert confidence in its cryptographic design.

  What changed. The company published a white paper describing its end-to-end encryption protocol.

  Aftermath. The publication provided external readers with more information about the system, although the Electronic Frontier Foundation still noted that Wickr’s security design was not fully documented.

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• 2021In-Q-Tel investment draws scrutinyControversy

  Reporting that In-Q-Tel had invested $1.6 million in Wickr brought scrutiny to the company’s relationships with intelligence and national-security circles. The report also discussed connections involving several investors and advisers.

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• 2014Use of Wickr in New York public-records controversyControversy

  Reports alleged that McKinsey consultants and prison officials working on a New York State Department of Corrections project exchanged documents through Wickr, potentially keeping project communications outside ordinary public oversight and records-request procedures.

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• Use of Wickr by Maryland officials and government-records concernsControversy

  Government-transparency advocates criticized Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s use of Wickr because expiring messages could be deleted before officials determined whether they were public records under applicable law.

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• 2023Wickr Me is discontinued

  The Wickr Me consumer messaging service was discontinued on December 31, 2023.

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• 2022Wickr Me stops accepting new users

  AWS stopped accepting new users for the consumer Wickr Me service on December 31, 2022.

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• 2021Amazon Web Services acquires Wickr

  AWS acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021, bringing the secure communications company into Amazon’s cloud-services organization.

  M&A
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• 2021Reporting describes In-Q-Tel investment in Wickr

  A Vice Motherboard report described a $1.6 million investment in Wickr by In-Q-Tel, the venture organization associated with the CIA, and discussed connections between investors and the national-security community.

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• 2017Wickr opens a cryptographic protocol for public review

  The company placed one of its cryptographic protocols on GitHub for public review and published an explanatory paper on the Wickr Messaging Protocol.

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• 2016Wickr changes chief executive

  Joel Wallenstrom replaced Mark Fields as chief executive and president.

  Leadership change
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• 2015Wickr Foundation launches

  Wickr founder Nico Sell became chief executive of a newly launched nonprofit foundation focused on advancing what it called the Private Web.

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• 2015Electronic Frontier Foundation evaluates Wickr's security features

  The EFF credited Wickr for several encryption, identity-verification, forward-secrecy, and audit practices while withholding credit for open-source code and a fully documented security design.

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• 2015Wickr publishes its encryption protocol white paper

  Wickr published technical material describing the protocol used to support its end-to-end encrypted communications.

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• 2014Wickr raises $9 million in Series A financing

  Wickr announced a Series A round led by Alsop Louie Partners, with participation from Juniper Networks and the Knight Foundation.

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• 2014Wickr announces $30 million Series B financing

  The company announced a Series B financing led by Breyer Capital, with CME Group and Wargaming among the reported participants.

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1. Wickr
2. CIA invested $1.6 million in encrypted messaging app Wickr