China partially blocks WhatsApp amid censorship push: reports

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp is facing a partial blockage in China amid censorship push by the government, leaving many unable to send text and share photos and videos through the platform, according to reports.

Late yesterday evening, many surprised WhatsApp users and security researchers in the country took to social media platforms and reported widespread service disruptions of WhatsApp happening since Monday night.

In comparison to the popularly used domestic app WeChat, WhatsApp has a relatively small number of users in China. Also, it offers end-to-end encryption on its platform, whereas WeChat is unencrypted and highly monitored and filtered.

In a statement to Bloomberg Technology, co-founder of GreatFire.org, which tracks blockages said, “The Chinese authorities want to be able to monitor all communication on the internet. By blocking WhatsApp, they limit the choices that Chinese have to send private and encrypted communications and force more and more users to adopt WeChat as their messaging app.”