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'Tens of millions' of people secretly use WhatsApp in countries where it's banned - including China and North Korea, messaging platform's boss reveals
With an estimated two billion monthly active users, WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messenger app worldwide.
But it seems many of the platform's users are in countries where it has been controversially banned, such as China and North Korea.
Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, said 'tens of millions' of people in these countries are using technical workarounds to secretly access the chat app.
One example is virtual private networks (VPNs), which make users look like they're connected to the internet in a different location.
However, China has recently ramped up its campaign against WhatsApp by removing it from Apple's App store.
WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messenger app worldwide with approximately two billion monthly active users, according to Statista
READ MORE: WhatsApp launches major change that makes it much faster to find chats
Users can choose between three filters, which will appear at the top of chat list
WhatsApp is blocked in China, North Korea, Syria and Qatar, while the app's features are heavily restricted in Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
'We have a lot of anecdotal reports of people using WhatsApp [in these countries],' Cathcart told BBC News.
'You'd be surprised how many people have figured it out.'
According to the tech boss, WhatsApp staff can see where users are by looking at their registered phone number, which has the telltale international country codes at the front.
'What we can do is look at some of the countries where we're seeing blocking and still see tens of millions of people connecting to WhatsApp,' he said.
In China, the government has blocked WhatsApp since 2017, although VPNs have offered people in the country a potential loophole since then.
People who visit China have to set up a VPN to access WhatsApp there, as well as other banned Meta apps like Facebook and Instagram.
However, last month, the Chinese government ordered Apple to remove WhatsApp from the Chinese App Store, making it even harder for people to use it.
Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta (pictured), said 'tens of millions' of people in these countries are using technical workarounds to secretly access the chat app
READ MORE: WhatsApp backtracks on subtle change
The change was introduced for both iOS and Android in April (stock image)
China also ordered Apple to remove Threads, Meta's social network that's similar to Elon Musk's platform X.
The tech giant said it had been forced to do so by the Chinese government's Cyberspace Administration of China, which cited national security concerns.
'The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,' Apple said in an statement.
'We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree.'
It's unclear if WhatsApp is still accessible on the Google Play store for Android smartphones in China and Meta has refused to comment further.
Cathcart called China's decision to remove WhatsApp 'unfortunate', but added that the country was never a major market for the app.
China – renowned for having a tight control over its citizens' lives – instead favours WeChat, owned by developed by Shenzhen tech giant Tencent.
The ‘Great Firewall of China’ has become the collective term for Chinese legislation that blocks internet services in the country.
WhatsApp is letting users connect to the messaging app via proxy servers for the first time to allow users to stay online even when an internet shutdown or block is in place
Proxy servers are intermediary gateways between users and web servers that let them go online
And under Chinese law, firms can be compelled to ‘support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work’.
Cathcart also said WhatsApp's proxy service, launched last year, has kept the app accessible in countries where there have been internet shutdowns, such as Iran.
Internet shutdowns are intentional disruptions to internet access and digital communications, often done by governments to silence dissidents online.
The boss described its efforts to provide instant messaging to people bound by 'authoritarian governments' as 'a constant battle'.
'We take a lot of pride in the fact that we're providing secure private communication that is free from surveillance of authoritarian governments, or even censorship from government, to people all around the world who otherwise wouldn't have it,' he said.