A spokesman for the Swiss army announced Thursday that the use of WhatsApp while on duty has been prohibited, in favour of a Swiss messaging service regarded more safe in terms of data security.
Using other messaging applications like Signal and Telegram on soldiers' personal phones during service activities is likewise barred.
Commanders and chiefs of staff got an email from headquarters at the end of December advising that their troops switch to the Swiss-based Threema. According to army spokesman Daniel Reist, the recommendation applies "to everyone," including conscripts serving in the military and those returning for refresher courses.
Switzerland is known for its neutrality. However, the landlocked European country's long-standing position is one of armed neutrality and has mandatory conscription for men.
During operations to assist hospitals and the vaccination campaign in Switzerland's efforts to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, the concern of using messaging apps on duty came up, as per Reist.
The Swiss army will bear the cost of downloading Threema, which is already used by other Swiss public agencies, for four Swiss francs ($4.35, 3.85 euros).
Other messaging services, such as WhatsApp, are governed by the US Cloud Act, which permits US authorities to access data held by US operators, even if it is stored on servers located outside of the nation. Threema, which claims to have ten million users, describes itself as an instant messenger that collects as little data as possible. It is not supported by advertisements.
The company states on its website, "All communication is end-to-end encrypted, and the app is open source."
According to an army spokesman mentioned in a Tamedia daily report, data security is one of the reasons for the policy change. As per local surveys, WhatsApp is the most popular messenger app among 16- to 64-year-olds in Switzerland.
