WhatsApp Censors Links To Rival App Telegram

It’s unclear why WhatsApp has taken this step, which effectively blocks anyone who wants to use the service to facilitate a conversation on Telegram. If any user sends the Telegram links using Whatsapp it is sending one blank link without any content that is the URL is appearing like a normal text message without hyper link.

This comes following a recent update from WhatsApp, 2.12.367, which has reportedly only affected some Android users.

WhatsApp users are complaining that messages containing hyperlinks leading to rival messaging app Telegram.me are being blocked by the Facebook-owned group.

This means that users who receive such a link will have to manually copy and paste it into their browsers.

The iOS version of WhatsApp still accepts URLs to Telegram normally. In contrast, WhatsApp’s user base crosswise Windows handset, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, Tizen and Firefox operating system platforms are more than 900 million.

Telegram Messenger has been under fire lately because of its alleged involvement in the Paris terrorist attacks. A new update for the service has also seen to better abilities of handling group discussions, raising the bar to around 200 users at the same time and allowing for designated admins to manage them. While that won’t be draining anyone’s bank account, it’s still more than Telegram, which is entirely free.

As per a report by The Verge, a Telegram member of staff stated that this matter is because of an update pushed out by WhatsApp on Monday that hindered links to the competitor application program.

“Typically after a media backlash, FB steps back and blames their intelligent filtering for the problem”, a Telegram spokesperson said.

The rival cross-platform messaging app gained popularity thanks to its focus on privacy and stability, following a number of WhatsApp outages.