24.06.2025 08:52
A popular messaging application, WhatsApp, which has millions of users worldwide, has been banned by the U.S. government. While the use of WhatsApp has been prohibited on the phones of members of the House of Representatives, alternatives such as Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage, and FaceTime have been suggested.
The U.S. House of Representatives administration has reportedly banned congressional staff from using the messaging application WhatsApp on workplace devices.
"HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANNOT DOWNLOAD WHATSAPP APPLICATION"
According to internal correspondence obtained by Axios, the House of Representatives warned its employees about the WhatsApp application. The internal memo published by the chief administrative officer of the U.S. House of Representatives stated, "House of Representatives employees may not download the WhatsApp application on any workplace device, including mobile phones, desktop, or web browser versions, or if they have downloaded it, they must remove it."
The correspondence also requested those who have the WhatsApp application on their devices to delete it as soon as possible, stating, "The Cybersecurity Office assessed WhatsApp as high risk for users due to a lack of transparency regarding how user data is protected, the absence of encryption for stored data, and potential security risks associated with its use."
Additionally, employees were warned to be cautious of potential identity theft scams and messages from unknown numbers, with alternatives to the WhatsApp application suggested as Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage, and FaceTime.
The U.S. House of Representatives administration has imposed partial bans on applications like DeepSeek and ByteDance, as well as Microsoft Copilot, in recent years to protect employees' data.
The use of ChatGPT by congressional staff has been severely restricted, with instructions given that only the paid version, ChatGPT Plus, may be used in offices.