WhatsApp Launches Proxy Support To Help Users Circumvent Internet Blocks

WhatsApp is launching proxy support for its users all over the world, the company announced on Thursday. The support will allow users to maintain access to WhatsApp if their connection is blocked or disrupted. From a report: Choosing a proxy enables users to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world dedicated to helping people communicate freely. WhatsApp says connecting via proxy maintains the same level of privacy and security the app provides, and that personal messages will still be protected by end-to-end encryption. The company says messages will not be visible to anyone in between, not the proxy servers, WhatsApp or Meta.

"Our wish for 2023 is that these internet shutdowns never occur," WhatsApp wrote in a blog post. "Disruptions like we've seen in Iran for months on end deny people's human rights and cut people off from receiving urgent help. Though in case these shutdowns continue, we hope this solution helps people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication."

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organizations

[bugs2squash]

proxies offered by volunteers and organizations - like the government for example

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[Fnord666]

proxies offered by volunteers and organizations - like the government for example

That's always the issue, isn't it? Who's actually got control of the exit nodes for your proxy and what are they doing with the information.

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[zlives]

i mean... if it is encrypted on both ends then sent via proxy... how is that any worse than tapping the wires. you still have to decrypt. the wires are already owned.

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[znrt]

the information on how and when those ends met is in itself private information and potentially sensible enough to get someone in deep trouble.