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The U.S. House of Representatives has prohibited the use of WhatsApp on all government-issued devices due to significant data security concerns. A memo from the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer identified WhatsApp as a “high risk” application, citing issues such as a lack of transparency in user data protection and potential security vulnerabilities.
As a result, lawmakers and staff have been instructed to uninstall WhatsApp and shift to alternative messaging platforms like Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has criticized the decision, asserting that WhatsApp provides stronger security features compared to many of the approved alternatives. This ban follows earlier actions against TikTok over similar data privacy issues.
Despite the concerns, WhatsApp remains one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, recently surpassing 3 billion monthly active users.
