Description

The U.S. House's chief administrative officer has banned WhatsApp on government devices because of concerns about data security, according to Axios. This move is part of a larger effort to restrict risky AI tools. Other restricted apps are DeepSeek, ByteDance apps, Microsoft Copilot, and ChatGPT, which is permitted only in its paid version, ChatGPT Plus. The Office of Cybersecurity considers WhatsApp risky due to unclear data handling, weak encryption, and security problems. House staff must remove WhatsApp from their devices. Meta disagrees with the ban, highlighting WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp responded by saying its messages are end-to-end encrypted and more secure than many approved apps. Meta’s Communications Director, Andy Stone, strongly opposed the decision, noting that many House members and staff rely on WhatsApp and hopes the House will reconsider, as the Senate allows its use. The CAO suggested other messaging apps such as Microsoft Teams, Wickr by Amazon, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime. WhatsApp is now among other banned apps such as TikTok, ChatGPT, and DeepSeek. Recently, WhatsApp announced plans to introduce ads while keeping user privacy intact. WhatsApp changes or hides personal details before sharing them with Meta, so Meta can't identify individuals and can only suggest ads based on general traits like location. While WhatsApp is known for privacy and security, its move into ads might affect its reputation as it tries to balance user features with making money A message now states that these prompts are public and can be seen by everyone. Meta may suggest them on other Meta apps. Don't share personal or sensitive information.