Is It Possible to Eavesdrop Through Iranian Applications?

One of the questions that Iranian users continuously raise is about how the Iranian government accesses the information of users who use Iranian applications like Snapp, Tap30, etc. For instance, a few days ago, one Twitter user posed the following question: Although the answer to this question is not so easy without the necessary evidence, based on the experience and behavior of the Iranian government, it can be said that using these applications gives the Iranian government and security organizations in the country the ability to track users if needed. What information can Iranian applications extract? Depending on the application and the permissions it requests during installation, an application can either request no access or request complete access. For example, looking at the permissions that the Snapp application requests—many of which, like location access, are necessary to use this application—it can be said that security organizations in the country can easily obtain the real-time location of the user through this application, although this access must be granted by the Snapp company to these organizations. Unfortunately, obtaining this access to such information by security organizations in Iran is not that difficult, and with a judicial order—which is not that hard to obtain based on evidence—they can gain this access. The reason for this easy access compared to non-Iranian services also relates to the fact that companies like Snapp and Tap30 must operate according to the country's laws and fall under Iranian jurisdiction. This means that these services must comply with judicial orders, and failure to comply could result in blocking the service and even the arrest of the service owner. What is the risk of using Iranian applications? The main risk threatening users when using Iranian applications relates to eavesdropping and tracking users. For example, suppose public protests occur like those in December 2017 or the street protests in 2009. In such situations, applications like Snapp or Tap30 will be very useful for Iranian security organizations because these applications have the precise location of users, allowing security organizations to monitor Iranian users on a large scale. Additionally, these applications can provide other information such as saved photos in the application, lists of installed applications, etc., to various entities. Should one use Iranian applications? The answer to this question is both yes and no, and it cannot be precisely said whether one should completely abandon the use of Iranian applications because, in practice, completely abandoning some Iranian applications like Snapp and Tap30 is not practical. Therefore, what can be suggested is to use these applications with caution; for instance, if you are participating in protests or demonstrations, it is better to delete these applications or completely avoid carrying your smartphone. Regardless of whether an application is Iranian or not, always follow this rule: if you have not used an application for three months, delete it because you will not use it in the next three months either.