Iran’s state broadcaster on Tuesday urged people to remove WhatsApp from their phones, claiming that the messaging app was collecting user information and sending it to Israel as the two countries trade military strikes.
“WhatsApp and Instagram are collecting information about individuals and are providing the Zionist enemy with their last known location and communications, tagged with the names of individuals,” the Iranian state television network said, referring to Israel. It did not provide evidence for its claims.
WhatsApp, in a statement on Tuesday, said the allegations were false.
“We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most,” the statement said. “All of the messages you send to family and friends on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one except the sender and recipient has access to those messages, not even WhatsApp.”
Internet services across Iran have been suffering severe disruptions, according to Iranian officials, experts and citizens, who say the government is likely restricting access to limit the spread of information about strikes and for fear of Israeli cyberattacks.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, is one of the world’s most popular messaging services. It said in the statement that it does not track users’ precise location, nor does it monitor the messages people are sending one another. “We do not provide bulk information to any government,” the statement said.
End-to-end encryption makes it very hard for law enforcement and spy agencies to get access to people’s digital communications.
Jenny Gross is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics.
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