Iranians Urged to Delete WhatsApp Over Fear of Data Sharing with Israel

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Iran, through its state television broadcast has ordered Iranian citizens to deactivate or delete their WhatsApp accounts on their devices. This order was issued under the suspicion that the messaging application will collect user information to be provided to Israel.

Al Jazeera reported that Iran sees Israel using WhatsApp to their advantage in this conflict. “This is extremely important because they are using the information on your phone, your location and the content you share, which is likely private but still accessible,” said a host of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The host also warned Iranian citizens that they might have relatives involved in the nuclear project, and they could be living near nuclear facilities vulnerable to Israeli missile strikes.

Iran also accuses the Zionist regime of using citizen information to launch attacks. The Iranian government recommends that all of its citizens use local-based applications instead.

Iran did not back the accusation with evidence, but it was made after Tehran reported that they experienced a near-total national internet blackout. This incident also caused a series of partial disruptions amidst the increasing military tension between Iran and Israel.

WhatsApp swiftly flagged the accusation as false report. "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," wrote the WhatsApp team.

The team also strongly denied that they provide bulk information to "any government." They are concerned that this information will result in the blocking of their platform services in the Iranian region.

WhatsApp stated that they have always been transparent and consistent in providing reports without violating the privacy of user messages.

“For over a decade, Meta has provided consistent transparency reports that include the limited circumstances when WhatsApp information has been requested.”

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