The parent company of encrypted messaging service WhatsApp has responded after Iranian state television urged people to delete the app over claims Israel was using it to gather user information.
There is no specific evidence to back up this claim.
Meta, which owns Whatsapp, said in a statement to 9news.com.au it was “concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them most”.
“All of the messages you send to family and friends on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted meaning no-one except the sender and recipient has access to those messages, not even WhatsApp,” the statement reads.
“We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another. We do not provide bulk information to any government.
“For over a decade, Meta has provided consistent transparency reports that include the limited circumstances when WhatsApp information has been requested.”