White House apps are automatically downloaded to government phones, they cannot be removed

In May, a The White House has announced that its new app will be automatically downloaded on millions of active phones civil servants. The problem: Federal employees I hate it and I can’t get rid of it.

Employees at the US Department of Agriculture, State Department, and the Department of Labor, who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said they were upset when the app appeared on their phones. Others tried to remove it, but to no avail.

“I took it off as a test and it came back,” says the USDA employee.

The program, which began in March, promises a mix of “real-time updates, real-time events, and access to the President,” according to White House website. Apparently, it is the same version that is available to the public on the Apple and Google stores. A button inside the app allows users “write President Trump,” which fills in the words ourselves reading “The greatest president.”

Under the Social section of the program, users can see posts from the White House X account, Trump’s Social Truth posts, and videos shared on the official accounts of TikTok and Instagram, among other platforms. The News section of the program includes White House press releases, briefings, and factual articles, as well as selected articles from Fox, Breitbart, Reuters, The New York Post, and other outlets, all of which provide a good picture of government policy or attacks on Democrats.

One public official said: “It shows unadulterated lies running through our veins. “Maybe Fox’s ratings are too high.”

In Apple’s App Store, the app’s privacy policy is linked to official website WhiteHouse.gov privacy statement. At the bottom of the page, there is a policy section for the White House Mobile App that contains only email and no information about the privacy or information policies of the app.