The privacy claims of Meta-owned WhatsApp have come under intense scrutiny following a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of San Francisco on January 23, 2026. An international group of plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa alleges that Meta Platforms Inc. And WhatsApp has misled billions of users by falsely claiming that end-to-end encryption protects messages from the company’s reach. The complaint says Meta “can store, analyze, and access allegedly ‘private’ communications of WhatsApp users,” which is supported by information from the whistleblower. They want class-action status, and are accusing Meta and its executives of fraud.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov fueled the debate by posting on He shared a link to an article to the lawsuit, which highlighted the alleged weaknesses.

Elon Musk joined this criticism on January 27, responding to a post about the Meta whistleblower, saying: “WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is suspect. Use chat.” Musk’s comments further heightened concerns amid news of the lawsuit.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone called the allegations “baseless,” telling Bloomberg: “Claims that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted are completely false and absurd. WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a baseless fabrication.”

A direct response from WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart in the recent post has not been verified, but the company has long insisted that encryption keys are stored on users’ devices, which are beyond Meta’s reach. The lawsuit, filed by the same firm that is defending NSO Group in spyware cases, could spark a broader debate over tech privacy and ad-based models. As tensions rise, users are urged to review the app’s policies amid the ongoing investigation.