Android users of the popular instant messaging app WhatsApp have noticed that it is blocking links to rival chat service Telegram. It was reported on Reddit that although the URLs still appeared as messages, they did not register as hyperlinks and users were blocked from copying and pasting them into another app.
The issue only began appearing in the updated 2.12.367 version of the app that was rolled out today. Telegram links are still working on the iOS version of WhatsApp, but that may change as the update reaches more devices. The Verge reported that the block also includes Telegram.com, a URL owned by a newspaper in Worcester, Massachusetts, that has no relation to the app.
