Iran asks citizens to delete WhatsApp, Telegram apps

WhatsApp messaging app logo - Photo: REUTERS

According to MSN, on June 17, Iran's state-run television station IRIB called on people to delete messaging and location-based applications such as WhatsApp from their mobile devices, accusing the application of collecting user information to transfer to Israel.

Specifically, IRIB warned people to stop using WhatsApp, Telegram and other "location apps", accusing them of being "Israel's main method of identifying and targeting individuals".

However, IRIB did not provide any specific evidence, according to Hindustan Times .

Responding to the allegations, WhatsApp - owned by Meta Group - confirmed that the above information was false and expressed concern that this could be an excuse for Iran to block the service, especially at a time when people need to communicate the most.

“We do not track location, do not store communication logs, and do not provide bulk data to any government ,” WhatsApp stressed.

This application uses end-to-end encryption technology, meaning that only the sender and recipient can read the message content, and the service provider in the middle cannot read it.

However, Mr. Gregory Falco - assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University (USA) and a cybersecurity expert - said that there have been studies showing that it is possible to collect metadata information from WhatsApp without encryption, such as usage time or frequency of communication - a factor that makes many people afraid.

Mr. Falco also mentioned the issue of data sovereignty . He noted that Iranian users' data may not be stored in Iran but in foreign data centers.

This makes controlling information more difficult, especially in the context of distrust in the global data infrastructure.

Iran has blocked access to some social media platforms for years, but many people still use circumvention tools such as proxies or VPNs to access them.

In 2022, Iran blocked WhatsApp, Google Play, and Instagram during anti-government protests following the death of a student in police custody, in an attempt to prevent protesters from sharing information, according to CBS News. The ban was only lifted late last year.

Despite the previous ban, WhatsApp remains one of the most widely used messaging apps in Iran, along with Instagram and Telegram.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/iran-yeu-cau-nguoi-dan-xoa-ung-dung-whatsapp-telegram-20250618093531321.htm