Telegram founder labels WhatsApp encryption the biggest consumer fraud

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has intensified his long-standing criticism of WhatsApp, describing its security claims as "the biggest consumer fraud in history."

In a series of statements posted to X, Mr Durov alleged that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is misleading because a vast majority of private messages are stored in unencrypted cloud backups.

He claimed that 95% of these messages end up as plain text on Apple or Google servers, where they can be accessed by service providers, government agencies, or malicious actors.

"Backup encryption is optional, and few people enable it," Mr Durov noted, highlighting a significant loophole in the platform's security architecture.

The criticism was echoed by xAI founder Elon Musk, who recently told his followers that they "can’t trust WhatsApp."

This sentiment aligns with concerns raised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has warned that unencrypted backups are inherently vulnerable to government requests and third-party hacking.

The controversy has now escalated into a U.S.-based class-action lawsuit against Meta. The legal filing alleges that the company provides employees and external entities with unauthorised access to private communications, directly contradicting its public privacy assurances and the widely marketed benefits of its encryption protocols.

In response, Meta has dismissed the allegations as "false and absurd," maintaining that the platform remains secure.

A spokesperson for WhatsApp stated that the service has utilised the open-source Signal protocol for a decade, ensuring that messages are only readable by the sender and the recipient.

Meta asserts that the end-to-end encryption protects over two billion users globally and remains the industry standard for mobile communication.

Despite these assurances, the debate continues to fuel a shift in user interest toward alternative messaging platforms prioritising server-side privacy.