WhatsApp has suffered a major setback in its home market, the United States, as the House of Representatives has banned the use of the messaging platform on government devices. The move, prompted by concerns over data security and cybersecurity risks, was first reported by Axios and later confirmed by Reuters.

A notification has been issued to all government personnel instructing them to uninstall WhatsApp from their laptops, smartphones, and other devices. The directive extends to the personal devices of the staff as well. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) communicated these changes via email.

“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 notice read.

In place of WhatsApp, government employees are now recommended to use more secure messaging platforms such as Signal, Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Apple’s iMessage, and FaceTime. Additionally, employees have been advised to be vigilant regarding phishing scams and messages from unknown numbers.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of WhatsApp, has expressed strong disagreement with the decision. Company spokesperson Andy Stone told Axios, “We strongly disagree with this decision by the House Chief Administrative Officer."

Stone defended WhatsApp’s encryption feature, stating, “Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the receiver and the sender can see them, not even WhatsApp."

Meta remains hopeful that the House, along with the Senate, will reconsider and eventually reinstate the use of WhatsApp.

In January, a WhatsApp official said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society. The House has banned other apps from staff devices in the past, including the short video app TikTok in 2022 due to security issues.

In a related development, earlier this month, Iran also instructed its citizens to remove WhatsApp amid ongoing conflicts with Israel. Iranian officials suspected that sensitive data was being leaked through mobile apps, including WhatsApp. The platform is widely used in Iran for both personal and professional communication.