Lawsuit Claims Meta Can Access WhatsApp Messages Despite End-to-End Encryption

Multiple plaintiffs from around the world have filed a lawsuit in a US federal court alleging that Meta is misleading users about the privacy of WhatsApp messages.

The complaint claims that WhatsApp communications can be stored, analyzed, and accessed by Meta, despite being marketed as end-to-end encrypted.

The company says that the claims are false and that WhatsApp messages remain protected by default.

What the lawsuit claims

According to Bloomberg, the claim comes from plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. They say that Meta can still store, analyze, and access messages sent via WhatsApp, even though they should be private.

The basic accusations that the lawsuit brings are that Meta’s descriptions of WhatsApp’s security are actually misleading. It leaves the impression that messages are entirely inaccessible to the company, according to the plaintiffs. They cite a number of unnamed whistleblowers who describe internal systems used to undermine the end‑to‑end encryption.

How Meta responded

Meta has directly rejected the claims and says that WhatsApp messages are protected by end‑to‑end encryption by default, and that Meta cannot access the message content.

“Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” said spokesperson Andy Stone in a message to Bloomberg.

“WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction,” he added.

End‑to‑end encryption

End‑to‑end encryption means that messages are encrypted on the sender’s device and decrypted only on the recipient’s device. This means that, in theory, even the company providing the service has no access to the content.

Meta uses the Signal protocol for end-to-end encryption, but the lawsuit doesn’t claim that the protocol itself is broken.

For now, the lawsuit is in its early stages, and it remains to be seen if the judge will even take it into consideration.

FAQ: WhatsApp Encryption and the Meta Lawsuit

Can Meta actually read WhatsApp messages?
No court or evidence has found that Meta can read WhatsApp messages. Right now it’s just a claim.

Is WhatsApp still end-to-end encrypted?
Yes. WhatsApp says that end-to-end encryption is enabled by default and uses the Signal protocol.

Does end-to-end encryption mean zero data collection?
No. End-to-end encryption protects message content, not metadata.

What happens next in the lawsuit?
The court may decide whether to certify the case as a class action and whether the claims survive early dismissal.