Technical Tip: Granular control for WhatsApp using URL filter/URLlist

[Koushik_IND_Banglore]

Description	This article describes the URL paths that WhatsApp uses for different media types and how granular controlling can be applied using the URLs.
Scope	FortiGate.
Solution	This solution applies to PC/laptops using the WhatsApp application and also the browser version of the app as both operate the same way. WhatsApp connects to the following CDN endpoint (Wildcard should be used): *.cdn.whatsapp.net The above wildcard defines the Host part of the URL and the host section defines how CDN can be reached. The path (added after the host part of a URL) defines the kind/type of media that is being accessed. For example, for image file sharing the path would be '/mms/image/. Any user trying to send or access an image to another user/group, will rely on the following URL: *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/image/* Similarly, for other media types following are the URL paths: Video: *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/video/ Audio : *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/ptt/ Image: *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/image/ Document: *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/document/ Sticker: *.cdn.whatsapp.net/mms/sticker/ On FortiGate static URL filter entries can be used for the above URLs to allow/block specific media types over WhatsApp. Related article: Technical Tip: Using a static URL filter feature to allow/block web sites