WhatsApp Ensures Iranian Citizens Are Always Connected to Apps Amid Government Blocking Efforts

JAKARTA – Meta Platform Inc.'s messaging and social media app WhatsApp announced on Thursday, September 22 that it will continue to work to keep users in Iran connected on the app after the Iranian government restricted access to the Instagram app and social media platform.

WhatsApp "will do anything" in its technical capacity to keep the service accessible and that they don't block Iranian phone numbers either. This appeared in a tweet on WhatsApp Twitter.

Iran on Wednesday, September 21 had restricted access to Instagram and WhatsApp, two of the country's last remaining social networks, amid protests over the death of a woman in police custody. This is known from the posts of Iranian citizens and internet watchdog, NetBlocks.

Last week's death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was arrested by moral police in Tehran for "inappropriate dress", has sparked anger over issues including freedoms in the Islamic Republic and economic conditions reeling from Western sanctions.

Protesters in Tehran and other Iranian cities burned police stations and vehicles on Thursday morning as public anger over the deaths showed no sign of abating. Even a report also shows that Iranian security forces were attacked by demonstrators.