See List of Countries Where WhatsApp is Banned!

It’s wondering that why WhatsApp is banned in a couple of countries, despite it’s amazing chatting and calling features. It’s not only ‘The New York Times’ which has been removed by Apple app store in China, there’re so many instances where some of the really good apps like WhatsApp are banned by certain countries, leaving behind the big WHY? Many of the popular social networking & communication apps are banned in multiple countries, WhatsApp is no different. According to a renowned media house, the major reasons behind such restrictions are national security concerns. Besides that, sometimes, to support local telecommunication companies as well, such applications or some of their functions, are got banned either permanently or temporarily.

Especially, Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar or UAE, seem to have a tough relationship with social apps giving calling facility overseas. That might not be cool for Non-residents to connect with their loved ones. It’s totally up to the Government of the country to lift the ban or not, if lift it, when exactly.

You might be escaped from the eyes of surveillance using mods like YoWhatsApp or GBWhatsApp but mind it, it’s risky because the consequences might be vile. It’s both interesting and informative to know about those countries along with the reasons for banning your favorite social apps.

List of Provinces that Blocked WhatsApp

We’ve compiled a list of countries where using some of the features of WhatsApp are restricted or completely banned. Have a look:

China

WhatsApp has been blocked by China Government during political campaigns due to its strong encryption features or censorship reasons. However, it has been observed from the past trends in China, that ban is usually for temporary reasons and usually lifted within a few months.

North Korea

North Korea is under the spotlight on the international front due to Kim Jong’s aggressive and surprising statements and this probably the reason that North Korea gives limited access to social networks like Facebook and WhatsApp to keep secrets of their country.

Cuba

Cuba has restricted the usage of internet in a dramatic way. In Cuba, only politicians, journalist and few students are legally eligible to access the internet and social platforms like WhatsApp. For others, public cyber cafes are the way to navigate the internet, that too with limited data usage. The reason here are neither political concerns or secret agendas but the high cost of internet usage which’s more than the average salary of Cuba residents.

Iran

Blocking of WhatsApp services was also seen in Iran for a number of times. The reasons however are confidential but as predicted by the sources, it might be due to security and censorship reasons.

Syria

After the recent political activism, the Government of Syria might fear with the Israeli’s sneak into the internal affairs of the company. Besides WhatsApp, Syria has also blocked websites like YouTube and Facebook many of times looking at their political conditions.

UAE

To promote their local telecommunication service providers, blocking of voice and video calling through WhatsApp is common. UAE has been known for giving employment & shelter to residents of other countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. and therefore it’s widely used by them to connect with their family and friends, which results in lowering down local UAE telecommunications.

Sum Up

Where WhatsApp is hitting the top position amongst the social messaging apps, many countries have blocked it. The news is shocking but the countries have their own rationale behind the action of blacklisting WhatsApp. However, it doesn’t mean that it’s permanently blocked. It totally depends on the Government of the country. In some countries, it’s partially blocked while many other countries have blocked it completely. Well, we only suggest you to avoid using WhatsApp, if the Government of your country have blocked it and shouldn’t try to use them illegally else you may invite a trouble. However, in that case, you may switch to another messaging app like WeChat or Instagram. Keep visiting our blog for more such lesser-known informative pieces.