Meta is facing a new lawsuit that challenges its claims about WhatsApp message privacy. An international group of plaintiffs alleges that the company misled users about how secure their chats really are.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The plaintiffs come from several countries, including Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. They argue that public statements made by Meta about WhatsApp’s privacy protections are misleading.
WhatsApp has long claimed that its messages use end-to-end encryption. This system is meant to ensure that only the sender and the receiver can read messages. According to WhatsApp, not even the company can access message content. The app also tells users that only people in a chat can read, listen to, or share messages. These protections are said to be enabled by default.
However, the plaintiffs dispute these claims. Citing a Bloomberg report, they allege that Meta and WhatsApp store, analyze, and can access much of users’ private communications. The lawsuit claims that billions of users worldwide were misled about the true level of privacy offered by the app.
The complaint further alleges that company leaders were aware of these practices. It accuses them of misleading users about message security. The plaintiffs argue that these actions amount to fraud and deception.
Meta has strongly denied the allegations. The company says the lawsuit is based on unverified claims from unnamed whistleblowers. A Meta spokesperson rejected the accusations and said the company will defend itself in court.
Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, called the lawsuit false and without merit. He stated that the idea WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is wrong. He added that WhatsApp has used the Signal protocol for encryption for over a decade.
The plaintiffs have asked the court to allow the case to proceed as a class-action lawsuit. If approved, the case could represent millions of WhatsApp users worldwide.
Meta often points to privacy as a key reason for its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp. This lawsuit could raise new questions about how encrypted messaging services operate. It may also affect public trust in privacy claims made by major technology companies.
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The case is still in early stages. The court has not yet ruled on whether it will move forward.
