WhatsApp provides official proxy assist to assist customers circumvent web blocks

WhatsApp is including assist for connecting to the messaging service by way of proxy, WhatsApp owner Meta announced today. It’s a transfer that WhatsApp hopes will permit customers to proceed to remain linked, even when the service is blocked by governments. Connecting by way of proxy gained’t impression WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption, the corporate says, and the content material of messages gained’t be seen to the proxy service.

“​​We’re putting the power into people’s hands to maintain access to WhatsApp if their connection is blocked or disrupted,” a WhatsApp weblog put up reads. “Choosing a proxy enables you to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world dedicated to helping people communicate freely.”

This is the primary time WhatsApp has formally supported connections by way of a proxy inside the app. This cached WhatsApp support page from earlier this week notes that “WhatsApp isn’t designed to be used with proxy or VPN services” and that “we don’t support these configurations.” As of this writing, the disclaimer has been faraway from the page to replicate the launch of the official characteristic.

WhatsApp says that proxy assist ought to be out there now to everybody utilizing the newest model of its iOS or Android apps. It could be discovered within the Storage and Data menu in Settings.