In the UAE the rule is written down. TDRA, the telecoms regulator, treats internet calling as a telecom service that needs a licence. Its VoIP Regulatory Policy, first issued in 2006 and revised in December 2009, entitles the licensed operators to block a calling service run by anyone without a licence. TDRA's FAQ goes further: unless an app is provided by a licensed operator such as Etisalat or du, offered together with one, or approved by TDRA, using it for calls is 'very likely' illegal, and the operators 'most probably will block your illegal traffic'.
WhatsApp is not among the approved apps. Gulf News's list, last updated in September 2024, names 15 calling apps licensed by TDRA, including BOTIM, GoChat Messenger, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Chats are not voice calls, so the VoIP rules leave them alone.
The operators do the filtering. Under TDRA's Internet Access Management policy, they find blocked content with systems built into their networks, by web address, pattern or 'digital footprint'. The policy does not say how those systems pick out a WhatsApp call, but the result is the one you see: the call does not connect while chats go through. A VPN wraps every connection, calls included, in one encrypted tunnel to a server in another country, so the operator no longer sees the call's own connections, only encrypted traffic to that server. That can help only if the network lets the VPN connection itself through, and it does not change the legal position below. Our UAE guide covers the country's other online rules.
Qatar is less clear-cut. Its VoIP policy, issued by ictQATAR in 2008 and still published by the Communications Regulatory Authority, says any person or business 'may use VoIP services for voice calls for their own use'; only selling calls needs a licence. Even so, from August 2017 residents reported WhatsApp calls failing (Gulf Times), and Skype said internet providers in Qatar were stopping its service, while Ooredoo denied that its network was the cause (Arab News). Qatar Living reported WhatsApp voice calls working again in May 2019, but in April 2020, 29 rights groups including Access Now and Human Rights Watch said WhatsApp, Skype and FaceTime calls remained blocked in Qatar, the UAE and Oman, and that Gulf countries have long banned such apps 'under the pretext of protecting the economic interests of national telecommunication companies' (joint statement). The US State Department's report on Qatar for 2023 says Ooredoo, the country's largest internet provider, blocked internet calling platforms, including Skype and FaceTime.
Elsewhere the whole app is blocked, not only calls: in Russia since 12 February 2026, in mainland China since 2017, and in Iran on and off since 2022. The table further down gives the dates and sources.
Understanding Internet Censorship
Internet censorship takes many forms, from state-level firewalls to corporate network restrictions. Organizations like Access Now's #KeepItOn coalition track internet shutdowns globally, while the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) provides open data on censorship around the world.
GhostShield uses standard WireGuard without an obfuscation layer. In countries that detect and block VPN traffic itself, such as China, Russia and Iran, connections can fail at times, and some school and office networks block VPN connections too.
Alternative methods to unblock WhatsApp
In the UAE, the licensed route is an approved app. BOTIM, GoChat Messenger and the other apps on TDRA's list are licensed for internet calls, so they need no VPN; the catch is that for an app-to-app call, the person you call needs the same app.
WhatsApp's built-in proxy does not fix calls. WhatsApp added proxy support in January 2023 for people whose connection to WhatsApp is blocked, using servers set up by volunteers and organisations, but its own help page says 'Calling is not supported while using a proxy server'. In the UAE and Qatar chats already work, so a proxy adds nothing.
A different DNS server does not help either. DNS only turns names into addresses, and the app already reaches WhatsApp's servers, which is why chats work. The call is stopped after that step.
Tor is not built for calls. It is designed around TCP connections, and the Tor Project notes that carrying all IP packets 'would make Tor better able to handle new protocols like VoIP'.
Modified apps are not a fix. WhatsApp's page on unofficial apps names GB WhatsApp and FM WhatsApp among them, says they break its terms of service and may carry malware, and warns that accounts using them can be temporarily or permanently banned.
TDRA's rule covers every internet calling app that is not licensed or approved, not only WhatsApp, so it applies to Viber, Telegram and Signal calls too. Our Viber, Telegram and Signal guides cover those apps, and VPN for VoIP and video calls covers calling in general.
Is unblocking WhatsApp legal?
In the UAE, TDRA's FAQ says that someone who uses an internet calling service that is not provided by a licensed operator, or approved by TDRA, to carry international calls over ordinary internet access 'may be committing a criminal offence', and that users of such apps are 'legally liable'. A VPN hides the call from the network; it does not make the call licensed. Separately, Article 10 of the UAE cybercrime law, Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021, punishes anyone who masks their IP address, with someone else's address or by any other means, to commit a crime or avoid its detection, with temporary imprisonment and a fine of AED 500,000 to AED 2,000,000, or either (Gulf News). Using a VPN is not banned in itself: the UAE law firm Hadef & Partners wrote in 2019 that it is not prohibited as long as it is not used for an illegal purpose. Qatar's VoIP policy, by contrast, allows internet calls for your own use, and Doha News reported in 2017 that VPNs are not illegal there unless used to break the law. This is general information, not legal advice. In the UAE, an approved app such as BOTIM is the licensed route.
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