Are your WhatsApp chats really secure and private? That’s the question many might ask, given Meta’s history with handling user data. Now, a global group is alleging that the social media giant has access to private messages despite the end-to-end encryption protocol. The group is asking the court to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which could make it far more impactful if approved.
For years, Meta has promoted end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on WhatsApp as a vital feature of the messaging app. Technically, this should prevent Meta from viewing messages, since the keys needed to decrypt them are stored only on user devices.
However, the new lawsuit claims otherwise. This was filed by an international group in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Friday and first reported by Bloomberg. Moreover, the case is represented by plaintiffs from countries including Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.
Lawsuit Alleges Employees Have Access to Your Chats
The lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is misleading and that Meta has access to user data, including messages, despite its claims. It cites an unspecified number of company “whistleblowers” as sources.
According to the filing, Meta and WhatsApp employees can request access from the engineering team to view a user’s messages. Once granted, employees can read the entire chat history tied to a unique user ID, including messages dating back to account creation and even those thought to have been deleted.
What makes this particularly concerning is the alleged lax approval process. The lawsuit states that ‘the Meta engineering team will then grant access—often without any scrutiny at all,’ making it easy for employees to request and obtain approval.
Meta Calls the Claim ‘False’
No technical details have been provided on how this would be possible, given WhatsApp’s encryption protocol. In response, Meta has denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit “frivolous.”
In a separate statement to media outlets, Meta said: “Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd.” The company also emphasized its reliance on the Signal protocol, which has been in place for over a decade.
At this point, it remains unclear how the lawsuit will progress. What is clear, however, is that the case could affect millions of users if the plaintiffs succeed, especially if the court certifies it as a class action.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe your WhatsApp messages are truly private? Share your opinion in the comments.
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