U.S. House of Representatives staff have reportedly been banned from using WhatsApp. Axios reports that the House's chief administrative officer informed employees on Monday that Meta's messaging app is now prohibited, citing security concerns.
SEE ALSO: Here's why you're about to see more ads on WhatsApp"The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use," the chief administrative officer wrote in an email sighted by Axios.
As such, House staff are now prohibited from having WhatsApp on any government device, or even accessing its browser version on such devices. Instead, they're being directed to alternatives such as Signal, Microsoft Teams, Amazon's Wickr, or Apple's iMessage and FaceTime.
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Responding to the issue on X, Meta's communications director Andy Stone refuted such security concerns, claiming that members of the House and Senate both regularly use WhatApp. Apple AirPods Pro 2 ANC Earbuds With USB-C Charging Case — $169.99(List Price $249.00) Meta Quest 3S 128GB VR Headset With Gorilla Tag Cardboard Hero Bundle — $249.00(List Price $299.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB Wi-Fi Retina Tablet (Blue, 2025 Release) — $279.00(List Price $349.00) DJI Mini 4K Drone With 4K UHD Camera — $239.00(List Price $299.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 64GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet — $148.94(List Price $219.99) Blink Mini 2 Indoor Wireless 1080p Camera (2-Pack) — $34.99(List Price $69.99) Ring Battery Doorbell Plus Video Doorbell (2023 Release) — $79.99(List Price $149.99) Shark AV2501S AI Robot Vacuum With Self-Empty Base — $229.99(List Price $549.99) Amazon Fire HD 10 32GB Tablet (2023 Release, Black) — $69.99(List Price $139.99) Wyze Cam v4 2K Wired Wi-Fi Smart Security Camera — $25.95(List Price $35.98)
"Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them," Stone wrote. "This is a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO's approved list that do not offer that protection."
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End-to-end encryption is a security measure which scrambles messages so they can only be deciphered by your intended recipient. Signal's end-to-end encryption is always enabled, which has helped it earn its reputation for being focused on privacy. iMessage, FaceTime and Wickr also appear to have this encryption on by default. The exception is Microsoft Teams, as users must enable its end-to-end encryption.
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When reached for comment by Mashable, Meta reiterated Stone's statement.
Security concerns regarding apps used by government employees are nothing new. States such as New York and Texas have previously banned DeepSeek's AI app from government devices in several, while TikTok was banned from all federal devices in early 2023.
