Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices
Iranian state television on Tuesday afternoon urged the country's public to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging the app — without offering specific evidence — gathered user information to send to Israel.
In a statement, WhatsApp said it was 'concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.' WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning a service provider in the middle can't read a message.
'We do not track your precise location, we don't keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,' it added. 'We do not provide bulk information to any government.'
End-to-end encryption means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is a garble that can't be unscrambled without the key.
Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University and cybersecurity expert, said it's been demonstrated that it's possible to understand metadata about WhatsApp that does not get encrypted.
'So you can understand things about how people are using the app and that's been a consistent issue where people have not been interested in engaging with WhatsApp for that (reason),' he said.
Another issue is data sovereignty, Falco added, where data centers hosting WhatsApp data from a certain country are not necessarily located in that country. It's more than feasible, for instance, that WhatsApp's data from Iran is not hosted in Iran.
'Countries need to house their data in-country and process the data in-country with their own algorithms. Because it's really hard increasingly to trust the global network of data infrastructure,' he said.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Iran has blocked access to various social media platforms over the years but many people in the country use proxies and virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access them. It banned WhatsApp and Google Play in 2022 during mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country's morality police. That ban was lifted late last year.
WhatsApp had been one of Iran's most popular messaging apps besides Instagram and Telegram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
37 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Strikes against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says
The US military's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites were not a preamble to plans for regime change, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, adding that private messages had been sent to Tehran encouraging them to negotiate. Still, Hegseth warned Iran against following through with past threats of retaliation against the United States, and said US forces were postured to defend themselves, and take action if needed, Reuters reported. "This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth told a reporters at the Pentagon. "The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program." The US strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, in an operation the top US general, General Dan Caine, said was named "Operation Midnight." Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact. Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. "Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice," Caine said.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Iranian parliament reportedly approves closing Hormuz Strait: Media
Iranian parliament has approved the closing of Hormuz Strait, Reuters reports citing the Press TV adding that the top security body is required to finalize a decision on this measure. Developing
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
GCC Sec-Gen: Direct Targeting of Iranian Nuclear Facilities Risks Regional Escalation
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi emphasized that the events in the region today, including the direct targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States, will escalate tensions and impact regional security and stability. He also stated that the GCC reaffirms the statement issued at the 48th Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council regarding regional developments and reiterates its condemnation of anything that threatens the security and stability of the region, SPA reported. Albudaiwi also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, for all parties to make joint efforts to de-escalate tensions, to adopt diplomacy as an effective means of resolving conflicts, and to exercise the highest levels of self-restraint to spare the region and its people the dangers of war.
