Iranian authorities have called on citizens to remove WhatsApp from their devices, claiming the popular messaging app is collecting user data for Israel — an allegation WhatsApp has strongly denied.
The warning came during a broadcast on Iranian state television Tuesday, as the country marked the sixth day of escalating tensions with Israel. Without providing specific evidence, officials accused the Meta-owned platform of harvesting sensitive information for foreign intelligence purposes.
“We advise citizens to delete WhatsApp from their smartphones immediately,” a state official said, alleging that user data was being transferred to Israel.
In response, WhatsApp released a statement to the Associated Press rejecting the claims. “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.
WhatsApp emphasized its use of end-to-end encryption, a system that ensures only the sender and recipient of a message can read its contents. “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,” the statement said. “We do not provide bulk information to any government.”
Owned by U.S. tech giant Meta — which also operates Facebook and Instagram — WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging services in Iran, alongside Telegram and Instagram.
This is not the first time Iranian authorities have moved to curb WhatsApp usage. In 2022, the platform was blocked during nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody after being detained by Iran’s morality police.
While WhatsApp maintains that its encryption protects user privacy, experts note that the platform still collects metadata — unencrypted information such as message timestamps, phone numbers, and usage patterns.
“It’s possible to understand how people use the app even if the messages themselves are encrypted,” said cybersecurity expert Gregory Falco. “This has long raised concerns, especially in countries with heightened surveillance sensitivities.”
Falco also highlighted concerns over data sovereignty. “Many nations want their data to be stored and processed within their own borders. For Iran, it’s more than likely that WhatsApp data is not hosted locally, which adds to the mistrust.”
As geopolitical tensions continue to intensify, digital communication platforms like WhatsApp may increasingly find themselves caught in the crossfire of cyber and political battles — with user access and trust hanging in the balance.
