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Why Iran has asked people to delete WhatsApp
In times of need, most of us want to connect with our loved ones, especially if we are in a conflict zone like Iran. The social messaging app WhatsApp plays a key role in connecting people across the globe. However, the application may not be available in Tehran and other parts of the country after the Iranian state television urged its people to delete the app on Tuesday (June 17).
This comes at a time when tensions between Iran and Israel have been heightened. Earlier, the Iranian forces fired a Fattah-1 'hypersonic' missile at Israel . .
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Here is a closer look at Iran's ban on WhatsApp.
Why is Iran asking people to delete WhatsApp?
Iranian state television has alleged that WhatsApp gathers user information and sending it to Israel. This isn't all; they warned people against using other 'location-based applications' like Telegram as well.
How has WhatsApp reacted?
WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, has denied the allegations calling them false. In a statement, the company said, 'We are concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.' The company asserted that it 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.'
The Iranian government has shut down messaging apps Telegram and Instagram. File image/AP
With end-to-end encryption, messages are securely scrambled, making them visible solely to the sender and intended recipient. This means that if a message is intercepted, without the unique decryption key, it remains an unintelligible mess, safeguarding communication privacy.
What are experts saying?
Several experts have shared their views on Iran's move to delete WhatsApp. One of them is Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University and a cybersecurity expert. He said that it's been shown that some WhatsApp metadata, which isn't encrypted, can still be accessed and understood.
'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.
Falco also mentioned data sovereignty, meaning WhatsApp's data from one country might not be stored in data centres within that same country. For example, Iran's WhatsApp data might not be kept 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.
Why had Iran banned WhatsApp earlier?
Earlier, Iran banned WhatsApp and other social media platforms in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody . Then, the Iranian government blocked WhatsApp and the Google Play Store. At the time, WhatsApp remained the most popular messaging app along with Telegram and Instagram. While restrictions were eased in late 2023, the availability of global platforms including Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram continues to be volatile which often depends on VPNs or proxies for access.
With inputs from agencies
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