White House app pushed to federal phones draws worker complaints

A White House mobile app has been pushed onto some federal employees' government-issued phones, and workers at several agencies told WIRED they cannot remove it. The rollout matters because the app has already drawn privacy and cybersecurity scrutiny and is appearing on devices used for government work.

The White House said in May that its app would be automatically installed on the work phones of millions of government employees, according to WIRED. Employees at the Department of Agriculture, State Department and Department of Labor told WIRED, speaking anonymously because they feared retaliation, that the app appeared on their phones without their choosing and returned after they tried to delete it.

One USDA employee told WIRED the app came back immediately after deletion. A State Department employee said the app returned within 24 hours and expressed concern because the same phone contains work apps and is used to communicate with foreign contacts through WhatsApp.

The app launched in March and is also available to the public through Apple's App Store and Google Play, according to WIRED. The White House website describes it as offering live events, updates and access to the presidency. WIRED reported that one feature lets users send a text to President Trump and preloads the message, “Greatest President Ever.”

The app includes a social section that displays content from the White House account on X, Trump's Truth Social posts, and videos from official TikTok and Instagram accounts, according to WIRED. Its news section includes White House releases, briefings and fact sheets, along with selected articles from outlets including Fox, Breitbart, Reuters and the New York Post.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told WIRED that the app does not require an account or ask users to enter data, adding that information in the app is “safe and secure.” Wales also said government phones often include preinstalled apps that help employees with their daily work.

WIRED reported that the app's App Store privacy link leads to the general WhiteHouse.gov privacy page. A section for the mobile app at the bottom of that page lists only an email address and does not lay out a separate privacy or data policy for the app, according to WIRED.

Security questions around the app surfaced soon after its launch. NOTUS reported in April that cybersecurity experts had raised concerns, including that the app initially shared users' locations and IP addresses with third parties.

The app was built by 45Press, an Ohio-based company whose X account describes its work as WordPress development, design, hosting and ecommerce, according to WIRED. Federal contracting records in the System for Award Management show 45Press received $1.5 million and was eligible for more than $8 million in government contracts, WIRED reported. The company did not respond to WIRED's request for comment.

NOTUS also reported that the app used widgets from Elfsight, a Russia-based company, and that the setup exposed personal information of White House officials. Elfsight later told WIRED that use of its software in a third-party site or app is controlled by the organization running that product, and said it had fixed the issue after reviewing the findings.

A State Department spokesperson declined to discuss the app's settings or controls, but told WIRED that department-issued devices are configured to meet federal security requirements. The spokesperson also said apps made available on managed devices are subject to federal security and risk-management processes.

A Labor Department spokesperson referred WIRED to the White House's comment. The USDA did not respond to WIRED, and a General Services Administration employee said the app had not appeared on that agency-issued phone. Employees who spoke with WIRED said they were not using the app.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.