WhatsApp Subverts Censorship with New Proxy Feature

The new feature is specifically meant to help people maintain access to WhatsApp even if they are living in a repressive regime where internet shutdowns are common.

byHabiba Rashid

January 9, 2023

2 minute read

The Meta-owned firm also stated in its blog post that connecting via a proxy will maintain the “high level of privacy and security” that is provided to other users.

As some of you may have already noticed on your WhatsApp, Meta introduced a new feature on 5th January 2022, allowing all WhatsApp users to connect to the messaging app using a proxy and bypass censorship in the countries.

This feature is specifically meant to help people maintain access to WhatsApp even if they are living in a repressive regime where internet shutdowns are common.

Using a proxy would enable them to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world. To this end, the company also linked a guide designed to help users set up their own proxy servers. They also compiled a separate guide to show how users can connect to existing proxies.

Proxy server providers and virtual private networks (VPNs) have long aided people living in areas of state-sponsored internet control. (VPNs and proxy servers both protect your IP address but only VPNs hide your online activity using encryption.)

These proxies can be used on both Android and iOS devices. Here’s how to do it:

The Meta-owned firm also stated in its blog post that connecting via a proxy will maintain the “high level of privacy and security” that is provided to other users.

“Your personal messages will still be protected by end-to-end encryption — ensuring they stay between you and the person you’re communicating with and are not visible to anyone in between, not the proxy servers, WhatsApp, or Meta,” they wrote.

Iran, along with its struggles against internet shutdowns, was explicitly mentioned in the blog post as an example of how a country’s access to the internet is deterred through a brutal security crackdown.

“Our wish for 2023 is that these internet shutdowns never occur,” the company said in a statement, adding that it was hopeful its solution would help in the event of shutdowns.