Iran asks people to delete WhatsApp as it accuses app of spying for Israel; Meta calls claim baseless

WhatsApp

Iranian state television has urged citizens to delete WhatsApp, accusing the messaging app of collecting user data and sharing it with Israel. The statement comes amid heightened regional tensions and marks the latest chapter in Iran’s uneasy relationship with foreign tech platforms.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, swiftly denied the allegations. “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 said in a statement. It reaffirmed that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption and does not track user locations, monitor messages, or share bulk information with any government.

“We don’t keep logs of who’s messaging whom, and we don’t provide bulk data to any government,” the company added. End-to-end encryption, WhatsApp explained, ensures that only the sender and recipient can read messages — any intercepted data appears as scrambled text, unreadable without a unique decryption key.

This isn’t the first time Iran has targeted foreign messaging platforms. During the nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, the Iranian government blocked WhatsApp and the Google Play Store. Though restrictions were eased in late 2023, access to global platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram remains volatile and often reliant on VPNs or proxies.

Despite Iran’s frequent clampdowns on digital communication, WhatsApp remains one of the country’s most-used messaging apps. Tehran’s latest warning could foreshadow renewed censorship efforts — but for now, many Iranians continue to rely on the platform for daily communication and uncensored news.