Elon Musk slams WhatsApp security as Meta faces lawsuit over encryption claims

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has publicly criticised Meta Platforms’ messaging service WhatsApp, raising fresh questions about data privacy just as the company faces a lawsuit accusing it of misleading users about message security.

Posting on his social media platform X, Musk claimed that WhatsApp is not secure and suggested users switch to X’s own messaging feature. He also expressed skepticism about other encrypted messaging apps, stating that even Signal’s privacy protections are open to doubt.

WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable.

Use ???? Chat. https://t.co/MWXCOmkbTD

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2026

Musk’s remarks follow a lawsuit filed in the US District Court in San Francisco by an international group of plaintiffs, who allege that Meta has made false representations about the privacy of WhatsApp communications. The complaint challenges Meta’s long-standing claim that WhatsApp messages are protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient can access them.

Also read: No more AI friends as Meta blocks teen access to AI characters

According to the lawsuit, Meta and WhatsApp allegedly store, analyse, and retain the ability to access a broad range of user communications that are marketed as private. The plaintiffs accuse the company and its leadership of misleading billions of WhatsApp users worldwide by promoting encryption as a core privacy guarantee while allegedly maintaining internal access to message data.

End-to-end encryption has been central to WhatsApp’s positioning as a secure messaging platform, particularly in markets where privacy concerns and surveillance fears are high. Meta has repeatedly said that it cannot read users’ personal messages, framing encryption as a key safeguard against misuse.

Responding to Musk’s claims and the lawsuit, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart pushed back strongly, calling the allegations “totally false.” In a post on X, Cathcart said WhatsApp cannot read users’ messages because encryption keys are stored only on users’ devices, not on Meta’s servers.

He described the lawsuit as “headline-seeking” and without merit, adding that the same law firm involved has previously represented NSO Group, whose spyware has been linked to surveillance of journalists and government officials. Cathcart reiterated Meta’s long-standing position that end-to-end encryption prevents the company from accessing private messages.

This is totally false. WhatsApp can’t read messages because the encryption keys are stored on your phone and we don’t have access to them. This is a no-merit, headline-seeking lawsuit brought by the very same firm defending NSO after their spyware attacked journalists and…

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) January 27, 2026

Meta, which acquired WhatsApp in 2014, has strongly rejected the allegations. A company spokesperson described the lawsuit as without merit and said Meta intends to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, signalling an aggressive defence.

Also read: Meta to test premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp

The dispute adds to growing scrutiny of how large technology companies handle user data and communicate privacy protections, especially as encrypted platforms play an increasingly important role in global digital communication.