ByAnish
Iran Urges Citizens to Delete WhatsApp Over Spy Claims
Iran Tells Citizens to Delete WhatsApp, WhatsApp Responds with Strong Denial
In a dramatic move, Iranian state television has called on citizens to delete WhatsApp from their smartphones, claiming—without providing evidence—that the messaging app collects user data and shares it with Israel.
The announcement stirred concern across the country, where WhatsApp remains one of the most widely used communication tools alongside Instagram and Telegram.
In response, WhatsApp issued a statement rejecting the allegations as false and dangerous, especially given the platform’s critical role in private communication during times of uncertainty. The company reiterated that it uses end-to-end encryption, which ensures that only the sender and recipient can read messages — not even WhatsApp itself.
“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,” WhatsApp stated. “We do not provide bulk information to any government.”
Cybersecurity experts like Gregory Falco of Cornell University acknowledged that while messages remain encrypted, metadata (such as usage patterns) could still be analyzed. This long-standing concern about metadata visibility is part of a wider global debate over data sovereignty — the idea that a country’s data should be stored and processed within its own borders.
Falco noted:
“It’s really hard increasingly to trust the global network of data infrastructure. Countries need to house and process their data locally.”
Iran has a history of restricting digital platforms during times of political unrest. WhatsApp and Google Play were previously banned in 2022 during mass protests and were only reinstated late last year. Still, many Iranians continue to access banned services through VPNs and proxies.
The push to uninstall WhatsApp marks another chapter in Iran’s broader effort to control the digital space within its borders — a space that millions still rely on for free and secure communication.
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