Daum Kakao to adopt 'privacy mode' amid gov't monitoring fears

Daum Kakao, the operator of South Korea's most popular mobile messenger Kakao Talk, said Wednesday it plans to adopt a "privacy mode" in an apparent bid to allay users' concerns about security.

"The new privacy mode in Kakao Talk will encrypt chat records and erase received messages," Daum Kakao said, adding that the service will be launched this year. The new feature will be available for users from all countries, it added.

Under the new feature, which uses end-to-end encryption, chat records will only be stored on each user's smart device, making it impossible for investigators to monitor the contents.

"If a message is confirmed to have been read by a receiver, it will be deleted from the server," Daum Kakao said. "Under privacy mode, even investigators with warrants will not be able to access the records."

The company also said it will regularly release a so-called "transparency report" on investigators' requests to access users'

data. Daum Kakao has said it will comply with legal requests to handover user data.

It said that local courts sanctioned 147 cases of surveillance from January 2013 to June 2014, adding such cases were executed under investigation warrants under limited conditions.

The company's latest move comes after local prosecutors last month said they will investigate false rumors circulating online, sparking fears among users that the government could read users'

messages on a real-time basis to monitor for anti-government remarks.

Despite Daum Kakao calling such fears "groundless," some concerned users quickly switched to other messengers based overseas.

Germany-based Telegram, launched by a Russian-born entrepreneur, has suddenly become one of the most popular messenger apps in the local mobile market due to the "digital migration."

Telegram showcased a Korean version of the application Tuesday. (Yonhap)