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David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University

Can a foreign government hack WhatsApp? A cybersecurity expert explains how that might work

On The Back Of Camera/Shutterstock

Earlier today, Iranian officials urged the country’s citizens to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones. Without providing any supporting evidence, they alleged the app gathers user information to send to Israel.

WhatsApp has rejected the allegations. In a statement to Associated Press, the Meta-owned messaging platform said it was concerned “these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them most”. It added that it does not track users’ location nor the personal messages people are sending one another.

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