‘WhatsApp is reading your private messages, can’t be trusted’; Big allegation by Elon Musk and Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

This controversy erupted following the filing of a new class-action lawsuit against WhatsApp in the United States.

Written by: Tahir Qureshi Edited by: Tahir Qureshi

Updated: April 10, 2026, 5:55 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/business/whatsapp-reading-your-private-messages-cant-be-trusted-big-allegation-by-elon-musk-and-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-brian-y-shirazi-nida-samson-meta-accenture-%f0%9d%95%8f-chat-mark-zuckerberg-8376182/ Copy

The lawsuit was filed in January.

New Delhi: Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, and Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, have raised questions regarding WhatsApp’s privacy practices. Musk stated that WhatsApp cannot be trusted. Meanwhile, Durov described it as the biggest “encryption” fraud in history.

Lawsuit Against WhatsApp

This controversy erupted following the filing of a new class-action lawsuit against WhatsApp in the United States. The lawsuit was filed in January of this year in a California federal court by two users named Brian Y. Shirazi and Nida Samson.

Meta Platforms and Accenture have been named as defendants in the case. The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial and are seeking damages from the company.

WhatsApp Allegedly Reading Private Messages Despite Encryption

The lawsuit claims that WhatsApp intercepts its users’ messages in transit. It alleges that Meta is sharing these messages with third parties, such as Accenture. This stands in contrast to the company’s claims that its messages are “end-to-end encrypted”—meaning that no third party, other than the sender and the recipient, can read them.

Use X Chat Instead of WhatsApp: Musk

Musk posted on X: “Can’t trust WhatsApp Use Chat for messaging and voice/video calls. Comes with this great benefit of actual privacy.”

Can’t trust WhatsApp https://t.co/Ts55gVXqkD

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2026

Use Chat for messaging and voice/video calls.

Comes with this great benefit of actual privacy. https://t.co/Ts55gVXqkD

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2026

Meanwhile, Pavel Durov stated that WhatsApp is misleading billions of users. He asserted that Telegram has never engaged in such practices, nor will it ever do so.

Pavel Durov posted on X: “WhatsApp’s “encryption” may be the biggest consumer fraud in history — deceiving billions of users. Despite its claims, it reads users’ messages and shares them with third parties. Telegram has never done this — and never will”

WhatsApp’s “encryption” may be the biggest consumer fraud in history — deceiving billions of users. Despite its claims, it reads users’ messages and shares them with third parties. Telegram has never done this — and never will pic.twitter.com/2DYguybgoU

— Pavel Durov (@durov) April 9, 2026

Allegations False and Absurd: Meta

Responding to these serious allegations, a Meta spokesperson stated that the claims made in the lawsuit are entirely false and absurd. WhatsApp has been utilizing the Signal Protocol for the past decade. No one other than the sender and the recipient can read your messages.

Musk and Zuckerberg’s Long-Standing Feud

The rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg is nothing new. After Musk acquired Twitter (now X), Zuckerberg launched ‘Threads’ to compete with it. In 2025, Musk claimed that his AI chatbot, ‘Grok,’ was superior to Meta AI. In June 2023, Musk even challenged Zuckerberg to a ‘cage fight,’ to which Zuckerberg responded by asking for the location.