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A group of international plaintiffs on Friday filed a new lawsuit against Meta, claiming it lied about WhatsApp privacy and fooled users into thinking their chats were truly private. According to the lawsuit, Meta has been secretly storing, analyzing, and accessing messages it publicly claims are “end-to-end encrypted.” WhatsApp shows users a default privacy warning: “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” messages. That’s supposed to mean that not even Meta can see what users send. But the new lawsuit says that entire promise is fake, and it accuses Meta of defrauding billions of users worldwide by making them believe otherwise. Plaintiffs say Meta misled billions about encryption The group filing the case includes plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. They argue that Meta’s claims about end-to-end encryption are a complete scam, and that workers inside the company can view the content of so-called “private” WhatsApp messages. The plaintiffs say whistleblowers helped bring this to light, though they didn’t name them or explain how they got the info. Meta bought WhatsApp in 2014 and has repeatedly claimed its platform is fully secure. But the plaintiffs say that’s all just PR spin, not real privacy. They accuse Meta and WhatsApp of building an illusion of safety to lure in users, while in the background, the company collects and studies the messages it claims are out of reach. Meta is not backing down. The company’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, called the entire lawsuit a joke. “Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” Stone said in a statement. “WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction.” Meta says it will pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Lawyers for…

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Filed under: News - @ January 25, 2026 2:24 pm