WhatsApp faces a class-action lawsuit in a California federal court that alleges its parent, Meta Platforms, misled users on end-to-end encryption while allowing access to private messages.
The case centres on claims that internal systems and third-party contractors could intercept, read and store messages, raising questions on whether only senders and receivers can access chats, as the platform has stated for years.
The lawsuit has also triggered a wider debate on user privacy, with technology leaders such as Elon Musk and Pavel Durov questioning WhatsApp's security claims.
Lawsuit Claims
The complaint, filed by Shirazi and Samson, alleges that Meta Platforms and WhatsApp breached privacy protections over more than a decade. It states that since April 5, 2016, third-party contractors were allowed to access private user messages, contradicting public claims of end-to-end encryption.
Whistleblowers told federal investigators that Meta employees and contractors had "broad access to the substance of WhatsApp messages that were supposed to be encrypted and inaccessible," according to a report by The Financial Express.
The lawsuit further states: "WhatsApp's secret interception, reading, storing, accessing and/or viewing of the messages it ensured plaintiffs and similarly situated class members were private, including without adequate disclosure to plaintiffs and class members, constitutes a serious invasion of plaintiffs' and class members' privacy."
The complainants seek damages for themselves and other users whose data may have been exposed over the period, the report said.
Industry Reaction
Musk questioned the platform's reliability, posting: "Can't trust WhatsApp." He also promoted messaging features on his platform, X, as a secure alternative.
Can't trust WhatsApp https://t.co/Ts55gVXqkD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2026
Use ???? Chat for messaging and voice/video calls.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2026
Comes with this great benefit of actual privacy. https://t.co/Ts55gVXqkD
Durov criticised WhatsApp's encryption claims, calling it the "biggest consumer fraud in history." He said the system contains "attack vectors" that could mislead users on privacy protections.
WhatsApp's “encryption” may be the biggest consumer fraud in history — deceiving billions of users. Despite its claims, it reads users' messages and shares them with third parties. Telegram has never done this — and never will ???? pic.twitter.com/2DYguybgoU
— Pavel Durov (@durov) April 9, 2026
Meta Response
Meta rejected the allegations and said WhatsApp uses the Signal protocol to secure messages, with encryption keys stored on user devices.
"Any claim that people's WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd," a company spokesperson said, adding that neither Meta nor third parties can read personal chats.
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