The local media provided no evidence supporting these allegations but additionally encouraged residents to avoid other “location-based” apps. WhatsApp has disputed the claims, with a spokesperson telling Time magazine the Meta-owned platform uses end-to-end encryption and does not track precise locations, keep messaging logs, or provide bulk information to governments.
The episode comes at a time when Iran is simultaneously experiencing a “near-total national Internet blackout,” according to NetBlock, an internet governance monitoring organization. The disruption follows earlier partial outages amid escalating military tensions with Israel after days of missile strikes between the countries.
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SB: Iran is at war with Israel and the US. It would be very stupid to be using tools provided by its adversaries no matter what public reassurances were given. Even if Whatsapp was encrypting messages end to end, it’s still potentially capable of providing IP address, location and other useful meta data to an attacker.
