WhatsApp Privacy Controversy: The debate around Meta-owned WhatsApp’s privacy claims is growing louder. Fresh accusations, a major lawsuit, and criticism from rival tech leaders are putting the messaging app’s end-to-end encryption promises under pressure, sparking strong reactions across the tech industry. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov added fuel to the fire, saying one would have to be “braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure.”
In a post on X, Pavel Durov said Telegram had previously analysed WhatsApp’s encryption system and found “multiple attack vectors.” According to him, this showed that the platform was never as secure as users were led to believe. “You’d have to be braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026,” he wrote, using unusually harsh language even by his standards.
You’d have to be braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026. When we analyzed how WhatsApp implemented its “encryption”, we found multiple attack vectors. https://t.co/BC1TWFAIlc
— Pavel Durov (@durov) January 26, 2026
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The controversy has also drawn billionaire Elon Musk into the privacy debate. The Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a post on X, writing, “WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable. Use X Chat.” Musk was responding to a post by DogeDesigner that quoted a Bloomberg report on the lawsuit.
WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable.
Use Chat. https://t.co/MWXCOmkbTD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2026
As concerns grow over whether WhatsApp messages are as private as claimed, other high-profile figures have also criticised Meta on X (formerly Twitter). Among them is Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, who said that when a business relies on ads driven by user behaviour, privacy can never be the top priority.
As a general principle, when you rely on ads based on user habits, privacy can never be the first priority.
The conflict of interest is real and serious.
Combine that with public market pressure for ever greater profit to justify astronomical valuations (“wealth creation” is… https://t.co/EK17W9k8YX
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 27, 2026
The Bloomberg report detailed a new lawsuit filed against Meta Platforms, WhatsApp’s parent company, in a US District Court in San Francisco. The case accuses Meta of misleading users about WhatsApp’s privacy practices and its end-to-end encryption claims. A recent legal filing by an international group of plaintiffs alleges that Meta misled billions of users by claiming WhatsApp messages are visible only to the sender and the receiver, not the company itself.
WhatsApp response
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart responded to the allegations in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Rejecting the claims, he wrote, “This is totally false. WhatsApp can’t read messages because the encryption keys are stored on your phone and we don’t have access to them. This is a no-merit, headline-seeking lawsuit brought by the very same firm defending NSO after their spyware attacked journalists and government officials.”
WhatsApp’s long-standing promise of end-to-end encryption
As we all know that the end-to-end encryption has always been the backbone of WhatsApp’s promise to its users. Meta has repeatedly assured WhatsApp users that this technology keeps messages visible only to the sender and the receiver, shutting out everyone else, including WhatsApp and its parent company.
That message is reinforced inside the app itself. At the top of every chat, WhatsApp tells users that only the people in the conversation can read, listen to, or share the messages. The feature is turned on by default, a reminder that appears each time a new chat begins, according to a Bloomberg report.
Global users sue Meta over WhatsApp message privacy claims
The plaintiffs claim that Meta can access many WhatsApp messages that users believe are private. They also accuse the company and its senior executives of misleading billions of users around the world. According to the lawsuit, Meta stores users’ messages and allows its employees to view them.
The plaintiffs come from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa, and say their claims are backed by information from whistleblowers. Their lawyers have asked the court to allow the case to proceed as a class-action lawsuit. Meanwhile, Meta has rejected the allegations. In a response to Bloomberg, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told the publication described the lawsuit as “frivolous” and said Meta plans to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Past lawsuit fuels fresh questions over WhatsApp privacy concerns
Meta has faced similar legal trouble in the past. In September last year, the company was sued by its former head of security, Attaullah Baig. He alleged that WhatsApp had “systemic cybersecurity failures” that could put user privacy at risk. (Also Read: OpenAI launches new AI tool Prism for scientists and researchers: Check features and is it free to use?)
Baig also claimed that he discovered around 1,500 WhatsApp engineers had unrestricted access to user data, including sensitive personal information. According to him, employees could move or even steal this data without being detected or leaving an audit trail.
