WhatsApp Banned From All Devices Used In The US House

WhatsApp has been officially banned from all devices in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an internal memo released Monday by the Office of Cybersecurity, which cites “excessive opacity in data management, lack of encryption at rest, and material risks to user security.”

The memo, signed by the House Chief Administrative Officer, urges staff to turn to alternative platforms that have already been approved: Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s encrypted Wickr solution, Signal, as well as Apple’s proprietary ecosystems – iMessage and FaceTime. The memo emphasizes how these applications ensure more transparent security procedures that are auditable by the administration.

Meta's reaction: "A decision we do not agree with, we will contest it"

Meta's reaction to the decision was harsh: "We disagree with the Office of Cybersecurity's assessment and will strongly contest this decision. Messages on WhatsApp are protected by end-to-end encryption by default, which means that only the sender and recipient can read them, not even us. This is a higher level of security than most recommended apps offer."

Adding to analysts’ concerns, the Signal app — which also offers end-to-end encryption — has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks for exposing military plans for Yemen. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed attack documents in at least two private group chats, one set up by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (including, by mistake, Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg) and another set up by Hegseth himself with family members and associates. But the blame in this case is not attributable to the app itself, but rather to its use.

The Risk for Devices in the US House

The Department of Defense, NPR reports, had already warned its staff in March with an “OPSEC special bulletin” warning that Russian hackers could exploit a technical vulnerability in Signal to spy on communications believed to be secure.

The subsequent pentagonal memorandum, however, allowed the use of third-party apps exclusively for the sharing of unclassified information, reiterating the prohibition on the transmission of “non-public” details even if they were not secret.