New Delhi / Army men cautioned on WhatsApp groups

The Army has issued a directive to serving personnel cautioning over joining social media groups, especially on WhatsApp, and against being in groups with veterans, Army sources said on Monday.

The directive, named “security of information”, was issued by the Army’s Military Operations Directorate.

“As per the new policy issued on June 24, all serving personnel are forbidden to be part of any social media group except where the group consists of only serving persons who can be identified,” an Army source said on condition of anonymity. It also states that serving personnel cannot be in WhatsApp groups with veterans, the source added.

“The broad directive was not to be part of open-ended groups on WhatsApp and only be in groups where the identity of everyone is known,” a source said.

All personnel are requested to abstain from posting any material of any kind in the groups, the source said. A large number of serving officers have since exited many non-military or general groups, officials confirmed.With huge popularity in India, WhatsApp has become a major communication and information sharing platform and there has been a proliferation of groups for various professional, social and personal activities. “In many groups the identity of many people is unknown and it may also lead to inadvertent sharing of sensitive information,” the second source added.