WhatsApp warning from Iran to citizens: Delete the application – Cyprus Newspaper
Iranian State Television, Tuesday, said in a statement to citizens to delete WhatsApp on their phones. In a statement, it was claimed that the application collected user information and sent it to Israel without any concrete evidence.
In a statement made by WhatsApp under the roof of Meta, these accusations were described as “unfounded”. “We are worried that such false information will be used as an excuse for preventing our services,” he said.
WhatsApp stressed that messages were encrypted from end to end and that the company did not have access to these messages. “We do not follow the location of the users, we do not access the message content and we do not provide collective data to governments,” the statement said.
Encryption and Data Safety Discussion
Cornell University Cyber Security Specialist Gregory Falco said that although the message contents remain confidential, some “metavers” transmitted via WhatsApp are not encrypted and that user behaviors can be partially understood with these data.
In addition, Falco, WhatsApp data may be stored outside Iran, pointed out that, « data sovereignty of the countries in terms of their own data within their own boundaries, » he said.
Bans in Iran have been applied in the past
Iran has banned many social media platforms in the past. However, the people continue to overcome these prohibitions by means of VPN and Proxy. During the protests that started in 2022 throughout the country, WhatsApp and Google Play Access were prevented, and these bans were removed at the end of 2024.
WhatsApp was one of the most widely used messaging applications in the country with Instagram and Telegram. It is a matter of curiosity whether the application will be prevented after the new call.
