Inside the Taliban’s Growing Surveillance Apparatus
The National Keyboard is the latest step in the regime's effort to extend state control from public spaces to the devices people carry in their pockets, drawing on methods pioneered by Iran and China.
When the Taliban introduced a new “National Keyboard” for smartphones, it was marketed as a homegrown technology project for Afghan users. Cybersecurity experts, however, warn that the app may serve a very different purpose by expanding the regime’s ability to monitor the digital lives of ordinary citizens.
Developed through Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), the keyboard has attracted scrutiny from digital rights advocates and security researchers. A recent analysis identified serious privacy concerns and raised fears that the software could be used for surveillance in a country where independent voices are already under intense pressure.
Sources say the project was developed jointly by the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Iran. One Afghan cybersecurity expert described it plainly: “My phone, but under Mullah’s control.”
In a risk assessment conducted by Alex Moses from the RaazNet team at Holistic Resilience, the keyboard was flagged as a high privacy and security risk. This assessment follows the compilation of key findings in a more comprehensive Static Security Analysis Report. RaazNet said that, even though they “did not conclusively confirm deliberate spyware activity, the identified behaviors and architectural decisions create a high-risk environment for potential misuse, surveillance, or unintended exposure of sensitive user information.”
In practice, this means the Taliban could access all text typed on the National Keyboard, expanding their power to monitor dissent and quash opposition. The keyboard has a hardcoded Application Programming Interface (API) that connects with ChatGPT, possibly for translation, which risks the capture and storage of all communications.
The National Keyboard also highlights the Taliban’s growing reliance on Iran for technical support. Sources say the Islamic Republic assisted RTA in both developing and deploying the software. With decades of experience building surveillance infrastructure and restricting digital freedoms at home, Iran possesses expertise that the Taliban has historically lacked but increasingly appears eager to acquire.
The Islamic Republic has extensive mass surveillance tools, including the National Information Network (Halal Internet), Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), a nationwide CCTV system equipped with facial recognition technology, and a citizen-reporting app called Nazer, which strictly monitors dissent. Taken together, these developments suggest increasing cooperation between the Taliban and the Islamic Republic on surveillance and information control. In Iran, a sophisticated monitoring apparatus relies in part on Chinese-made technology. The Taliban’s recent investments in surveillance infrastructure suggest it may be following a similar path.
Since returning to power in 2021, the regime’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) has overseen a dramatic increase in monitoring capabilities. Taliban officials claim that between 90,000 and 100,000 CCTV cameras have been installed across Kabul alone, effectively placing much of the capital under constant observation. Under the previous leadership, that number stood at just over 800.
A BBC report documented a central monitoring station in Kabul where CCTV feeds converge and are analyzed by AI-powered systems equipped with facial recognition and license plate-reading technology. The Taliban insists these measures are necessary for national security, but critics argue they are part of a broader effort to intimidate citizens into compliance with their ideology.
Technology is only one part of the equation. According to Hasht-e Subh, the Taliban also relies on more old-school intelligence-gathering methods, deploying agents disguised as beggars and street vendors to gather information in public spaces. Together, these tactics point to an increasingly sophisticated surveillance apparatus that reaches far beyond the digital sphere.
The space for independent journalism and the free flow of information in Afghanistan is shrinking rapidly. Journalists face increasing obstacles to reporting, operating in an environment defined by surveillance, censorship, and intimidation.
The consequences are reflected in Reporters Without Borders’ 2026 World Press Freedom Index, which ranked Afghanistan 175th out of 180 countries. Only Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and North Korea ranked lower. Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan was ranked 122nd.
Journalists who challenge the regime risk harassment, arbitrary detention, torture, imprisonment, and, in some cases, death. At the same time, sympathetic Western influencers and media personalities have been given privileged access, helping amplify Taliban narratives to audiences abroad.
As the regime tightens its grip on information, independent reporting has become both more difficult and more essential. Access to reliable information is one of the few tools available for documenting abuses and holding the Taliban accountable.
Last month, the Taliban’s newly appointed telecommunications minister ordered internet service providers to cut off household Wi-Fi access across Afghanistan, a move that drew widespread criticism from citizens and digital rights advocates. While the directive was striking, it was not unprecedented.
The Taliban has repeatedly sought to tighten its control over internet access since returning to power. Last year, supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered a nationwide internet shutdown that lasted four days before being reversed by the prime minister. The decision exposed tensions within the Taliban leadership, with officials in Kabul effectively overruling an order issued from Kandahar.
Although internet access was ultimately restored, the episode laid bare the regime’s willingness to restrict digital communications in pursuit of greater control over the flow of information—but even the Taliban cannot fully govern a modern country through total digital isolation.
Despite worsening conditions, journalists, activists, and digital rights groups continue to find ways to document abuses and keep information moving. Organizations abroad are working to help people in authoritarian states communicate more safely, while Afghan reporters continue to risk their lives to expose the truth.
The Taliban’s growing reliance on surveillance mirrors the tactics of other authoritarian regimes, including Iran, China, and Russia. As global attention shifts elsewhere, the suffering of ordinary Afghans risks being forgotten. That makes the work of those resisting censorship, documenting abuses, and defending access to information all the more urgent.
The National Keyboard may appear to be a simple smartphone application. In reality, it represents a regime’s determination to extend its reach into every aspect of daily life, including the devices people carry in their pockets. Whether the software will succeed as a surveillance tool remains to be seen. But the trajectory is deeply troubling. As the Taliban invests heavily in technologies designed to monitor its population, those seeking to preserve privacy, free expression, and independent journalism are fighting to ensure Afghanistan does not disappear behind a digital curtain.
Middle East Uncovered is powered by Ideas Beyond Borders. The views expressed in Middle East Uncovered are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ideas Beyond Borders.