Trump Administration to force White House app on all federal employees

The Trump administration plans to automatically install its official White House app on every government-issued phone across the executive branch, according to internal emails reviewed by Government Executive.

The decision came after the White House released the app with promises of "unfiltered, real-time upgrades straight from the source" though the version destined for government phones will be identical to the public release.

White House app features

The White House application acts as a platform for distributing content. The application provides users with press releases, government media, news stories and data.

One function within the app is for "Texting President Trump," which allows for signing up on a mailing list. According to a White House spokesperson cited by Government Executive magazine, "Government devices typically include pre-installed apps that provide value to government employees' day-to-day work."

It is unknown if federal employees will have exclusive access to certain functionalities of the application or if this installation is only done for communications purposes.

Vulnerabilities were identified soon after the launch of the application in March. The initial assessment found out that the application uses location tracking services. Moreover, there is a chance of a third-party involvement in the process of collecting and transmitting the users' information.

Installation of the application on the devices managed by government institutions means an extremely high level of threat. Government employees can become the source of classified information unintentionally.

Automatic installation deprives government agencies of the opportunity to check the application for any possible threats.