"While many of us celebrated by texting our loved ones on WA, there are millions of people in Iran and elsewhere who continue to be denied the right to communicate freely and privately. So today we’re making it easier for anyone to connect to WA using a proxy," Head of Whatsapp at Meta Will Cathcart announced on January 5. Why does this matter: WhatsApp is synonymous with instant messaging to many of us. In the rare instance when the company's servers go down, personal communication as well as business processes face significant disruptions. But what is taken for granted in many parts of the world is often not accessible in a few regions. Oppressive regimes like Iran frequently block access to WhatsApp to prevent the organising of protestors and sharing of any information detrimental to the people in power. In India, as well, frequent internet shutdowns in regions like Jammu and Kashmir cut off people from essential internet services like WhatsApp. The proxy feature will hopefully help people bypass the block in some of these circumstances. "The world has never been more connected yet there are still internet disruptions that threaten people’s access. We hope that making it easier to use a proxy will make it that much harder to violate people’s right to communicate privately." — WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart How does it work: "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.…
