Staff members of the U.S. House of Representatives have reportedly been prohibited from using WhatsApp. According to Axios, the House’s Chief Administrative Officer notified employees on Monday that Meta’s messaging app is now banned due to security concerns.
In an email reviewed by Axios, the Chief Administrative Officer stated, “The Office of Cybersecurity has classified WhatsApp as high-risk due to its lack of transparency in protecting user data, absence of encryption for stored data, and the potential security vulnerabilities associated with its use.”
As a result, House staff are now forbidden from installing WhatsApp on any government-issued device or accessing its browser version on those devices. Instead, they are being encouraged to use alternative platforms such as Signal, Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, or Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
Addressing the matter on X, Meta’s Communications Director Andy Stone dismissed the security concerns, stating that members of both the House and Senate routinely use WhatsApp.
End-to-end encryption is a security feature that encrypts messages so only the intended recipient can decode them. Signal has end-to-end encryption enabled by default, which has contributed to its strong reputation for privacy. Similarly, iMessage, FaceTime, and Wickr also have this encryption enabled by default. The exception is Microsoft Teams, where users must manually activate end-to-end encryption.
When contacted by Mashable, Meta reiterated Andy Stone’s statement.
Concerns over the security of apps used by government employees are not new. States like New York and Texas have previously prohibited DeepSeek’s AI app on government devices, while TikTok was banned from all federal devices in early 2023.