The U.S. House of Representatives has officially banned the use of WhatsApp on all government-issued devices, citing serious cybersecurity concerns, according to The Guardian.
In a memo sent Monday, the House’s Office of Cybersecurity warned staff that WhatsApp poses a “high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.”
The notice, issued by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), advised House employees to use alternative messaging platforms considered safer by the office. Recommended apps included Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, Apple’s iMessage and Facetime, and Signal.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, strongly objected to the ban and the reasoning behind it.
“We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization in the strongest possible terms,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially.
Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them. This is a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO’s approved list that do not offer that protection.”
The Guardian writes that among the apps still permitted is Signal, which also provides end-to-end encryption. However, Signal has recently faced its own controversy. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly used private Signal group chats to discuss sensitive military actions, including details of planned strikes on Yemen.
According to reports, one chat group was created by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and included top U.S. security officials — as well as, unintentionally, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic. A second group, created by Hegseth, reportedly included his wife, brother, and about a dozen others.
Despite Signal’s encryption, the Pentagon has expressed concerns about its use. A March 18 bulletin, described by NPR as an “OPSEC special bulletin,” warned Pentagon employees that Russian hackers could exploit a known vulnerability in Signal. The memo indicated that encrypted messaging apps could be targeted by state-backed cyber actors seeking to access sensitive communications.
While apps like Signal remain authorized for sharing general, unclassified information, the Defense Department memo clarified that “third party messaging apps” must not be used to transmit “non-public” unclassified content, reinforcing ongoing caution across federal agencies regarding digital security practices.
