A group of international WhatsApp users has filed a lawsuit in a United States court accusing Meta, the app’s parent company, of misleading users about the privacy of its end-to-end encryption feature.
The lawsuit, filed on January 23 in a San Francisco court, alleges that despite WhatsApp’s assurances that messages are fully protected, Meta and WhatsApp employees can still access private communications. The plaintiffs, who come from Australia, South Africa and Mexico, have described WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption as a “sham” and are seeking damages from the tech giant, according to Bloomberg.
WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is marketed as a security measure that ensures only the sender and the recipient can read messages, with encryption keys stored solely on users’ devices. Meta has repeatedly stated that it cannot decrypt or access the content of messages sent on the platform.
However, the 51-page lawsuit challenges these claims. It alleges that Meta employees can bypass the encryption system through internal processes. According to the filing, a staff member only needs to submit a “task” to a Meta engineer explaining the reason for accessing a user’s messages. Once approved, engineers allegedly grant access via an internal tool or widget linked to a user’s unique identification number.
The plaintiffs claim that this access allows employees to view messages almost in real time, alongside unencrypted data, and without strict time limitations. The lawsuit further alleges that even messages users believe they have deleted may still be accessible through these internal systems.
Meta has strongly denied the allegations, dismissing them as “false and absurd.” The company maintains that WhatsApp’s encryption architecture prevents anyone, including Meta itself, from reading users’ private messages.
The case has reignited concerns about data privacy and transparency among major technology platforms, particularly as messaging apps increasingly promote end-to-end encryption as a guarantee of user confidentiality. If the lawsuit moves forward, it could lead to increased scrutiny of how encrypted services are implemented and managed internally.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the case underscores the growing debate over digital privacy and the trust users place in global technology companies that handle billions of private communications every day.
