Iran Blocks Signal Messenger When Its Citizens Switch From WhatsApp

Signal blocked Iran (Aljazeera)

JAKARTA - When many Iranian citizens switched from WhatsApp to Signal due to controversial policies, the Iranian government has instead blocked the WhatsApp competitor application.

Iran issued an order to remove Signal Messenger from Cafe Bazaar (a Google Play-like app store) and Myket on January 14. This week, Signal users in Iran are experiencing access problems.

"We cannot stop the registration, Iranian sensors are now stopping all Signal traffic", Signal said as quoted by Ajazeera, on Wednesday, January 27.

“Iranians deserve privacy. We haven't given up yet”, added Signal.

"We are grateful for your understanding of our boundaries", said one Iranian.

On the other hand, this news actually contradicts the spokesman for the Iranian Court, Ghilamhossein Esmaeile. He said that under the control of new leader Ebrahim Raisi in 2019, they had not "blocked the media, news outlets or messaging services".

Previously, Iran had blocked Signal in 2016 and 2017. However, this action was not promoted massively because at that time Signal had very few users.

Different opinion came from internet researcher with human rights organization in UK, Mahsa Alimardani. According to her, Signal was used by certain parties in Iran during protests in 2017 and 2018.

"Signal is always advertised as an app for dissidents or activists to stay safe from any country's authorities, especially the United States and its extensive surveillance capabilities", Alimardani said.

According to Alimardani, previously Signal had become a means of daily communication for civil society. Signal follows a number of other popular apps that Iran has blocked, including Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, and Facebook.

Only Instagram and WhatsApp are not blocked by Iranian authorities. This sparked speculation among Iranian social media users that the government could access user information on both platforms.