Whatsapp users noticed a strange issue in their app lately. It turns out that all links leading to Telegram.me were being blocked in Whatsapp, rendering them into mere text messages instead of hyperlinks. Links that lead to chat rooms and personal messages were also involved being blocked. Additionally, users were blocked from copying and pasting those links to another app.
However, this problem only occured in some devices, as noted by The Verge. Telegram reportedly confirmed both the problem’s existence, and blamed it on Whatsapp’s new update that was already deployed earlier in the morning, thus explaining the inconsistent blocking behaviour.
Facebook, which carries responsibility as Whatsapp’s owner, also employed the link-blocking tactic although this move gained much controversy in the past. Recently, Facebook received criticism for blocking any mention of Tsu.co, a social network that pays users for posting content on its site.
Some Telegram users that happen to be Redditors started a thread in r/Telegram, expressing their outrageous opinion on that blocking issue. One of the users even branded the move as a “dirty trick”. It is still unknown whether the problem in the messaging app was intentional or a bug, as neither Facebook nor Whatsapp confirmed it.
