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Friday, October 23, 2026
Waze rejects Malaysia’s allegations that Israeli-founded app exploits user data
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Navigation app Waze rejects Malaysia’s allegations that it allows the exploitation of users’ personal data, after the country banned civil servants from using it over its Israeli links.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the ban on Wednesday to “safeguard government information and users’ personal data against the threat of misuse by the Israeli regime.”
Muslim-majority Malaysia is a longstanding and vocal critic of Israel and maintains no diplomatic relations with it.
Waze, owned by Google, was founded in Israel and remains incorporated there.
“Claims that Waze collects sensitive government information or allows any entity to exploit personal user data are completely false,” a Waze spokesperson says in a statement.
“Waze operates under strict privacy policies that protect user data and comply with global legal data protection standards,” the statement reads.
The Times of Israel Community.