i cant call on viber because of viber out

'This time they are not just limiting the internet,' Ali added. 'I can hardly get in touch with my friends because we can't always get connected to VPNs,' 22-year-old Ali, whose name CNN changed because he fears for his safety, told CNN via an encrypted ProtonMail conversation.Ī VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts the user's traffic and connects it to a remote server, protecting the data and activity Tor is an open-source network which allows anonymous web browsing ProtonMail is an end-to-end encrypted email service. But even these are now being restricted by authorities and are therefore far from reliable.

'They don't want you to be able to communicate with your friends, with your family, with your colleagues, because simply if you're going to basically create a group you're going to be more effective in the way that you are doing protest,' Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at human rights organization Miaan Group, told CNN.Īs a result of these frequent blackouts, tech-savvy Iranians have learned increasingly to rely on more advanced tools like VPNs or Tor network as workarounds to stay connected. The most severe crackdown was in 2019, during which more than 100 protesters were killed and the internet was cut off for 12 days, according to Amnesty International.Īctivists in Iran say that the primary purpose of the shutdowns is to disrupt communication among people organizing protests on the ground and stifle dissent.

Internet shutdowns aren't new in Iran, often accompanying periods of unrest and dissent. But then it went dark as WhatsApp, Signal, Viber, Skype, and even Instagram, one of the last remaining social media apps to be usable, were blocked.

I cant call on viber because of viber out