WhatsApp Helps Users Evade Government Crackdowns

WhatsApp has announced(Opens in a new window) the launch of proxy support, which allows users to continue using the service even when their connection has been blocked or disrupted by actors such as authoritarian governments.

A proxy acts effectively as a middle-man passing data between the user and WhatsApp. The move comes after the Iranian regime killed off access to the popular messaging app in a bid to stop the organization of protests about Masha Amini(Opens in a new window), the 22-year-old woman who died after being detained by the country’s morality police.

In a blog post, WhatsApp referenced the government internet shutdowns in Iran and said it hopes that the proxy would “help people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication.” 

WhatsApp said the proxy servers are set up by volunteers and organizations that are “dedicated to helping people communicate freely.” Anyone interested in setting up a proxy server can view the steps needed to be taken to do so here(Opens in a new window).

Users can find proxy servers by searching through social media or search engines for “trusted sources” that have created a proxy, WhatsApp added. Once found, users must enter the name of the server on the app.

The messaging app stressed that users connected to a proxy will still benefit from messages being end-to-end encrypted, which means WhatsApp, its owner Meta, nor proxy-server owners can read sent messages.

WhatsApp users can enable proxy by visiting the settings menu on the latest version of the app. Instructions for Android and iOS users are slightly different; you can find a guide here(Opens in a new window). 

A WhatsApp spokesperson told(Opens in a new window) Ars Technica that it had “started putting [proxy] capability into the app over the last few months of last year”, and that it “regularly consults” with human rights organizations on “freedom of expression and privacy issues,” adding that it had done so during the development of the proxy feature. 

According to the Independent VPN review site Top10VPN(Opens in a new window), social media blocks in 23 countries last year amounted to 26,865 hours, and 710 million people across the world were affected by social media shutdowns last year.