Our position
Taftan is developed in London, United Kingdom, by Iman Samizadeh.
We comply with United Kingdom and United States sanctions and export controls, and we do not help anyone to evade them. Taftan helps people communicate when networks are restricted or shut down. That is not the same as getting around sanctions or export controls. Taftan is not offered for that purpose, and you must not use it for that purpose.
Why ordinary people in Iran may use Taftan
United States: 31 CFR 560.540, part of the US Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, authorises software that is incident to, or enables, the exchange of communications over the internet to be provided to people in Iran, if the software is designated EAR99 or classified under ECCN 5D992.c. Since 17 May 2024 (89 FR 43311) this section has included, with amendments, the general licence that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) previously published as General License D-2.
Taftan is free, publicly available communication software. It uses standard, mass-market encryption. In our own assessment it meets the criteria for ECCN 5D992.c and falls within 31 CFR 560.540. This is our own assessment, not a formal classification ruling.
United Kingdom: we are not aware of any UK sanctions measure that prohibits making free personal communication software publicly available to ordinary people in Iran.
Who must not download, use or receive Taftan
The following people and organisations must not download, use or receive Taftan. Some of these limits go further than the law requires, and we apply them as our own policy:
- any person or organisation on the UK sanctions list, on the US Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) kept by OFAC, or on a United Nations sanctions list;
- the Government of Iran, and any organisation that it owns or controls;
- anyone who acts for, or on behalf of, any of them;
- anyone who would use Taftan for a commercial purpose that 31 CFR 560.540 does not authorise.
We do not knowingly supply Taftan to any of them. If any of these descriptions applies to you, you must not download or use Taftan. If you pass a copy of the app to another person, do not pass it to anyone described here.
Read this first: your safety
In some countries, including Iran, the use of encryption, hidden messages or tools that work around network restrictions can be illegal. People have been arrested for it. An app of this kind on your phone can attract attention if the phone is searched.
No tool can make you anonymous or completely safe. Taftan protects the content of a message with encryption. It does not hide that two people met, that a device played a sound, that a screen showed codes, or that someone sent a photo.
A hidden message may be detectable in either mode. Do not rely on a photo to hide that a message exists.
Anyone who sees your screen, hears the transfer or holds your unlocked phone can learn what you sent. A weak passphrase can be guessed.
You must judge your own risk before you use Taftan. Nothing on this website is legal advice.
Changes
Sanctions rules change often. This page gives our understanding on the date at the top. It is not legal advice.