Elon Musk questions WhatsApp security in swipe at Meta

Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has criticised Meta Platforms over the security of its messaging service WhatsApp, reigniting tensions between major technology leaders amid ongoing debate over user privacy.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk claimed that WhatsApp was “not secure” and questioned the reliability of other encrypted messaging platforms, while promoting X’s own messaging feature, X Chat.

Musk’s comments came as Meta faces legal action over its handling of WhatsApp user data. According to Bloomberg, an international group of plaintiffs has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, accusing the company of misleading users about the privacy and security of WhatsApp.

The plaintiffs allege that despite claims of end-to-end encryption, Meta is able to store, analyse and access WhatsApp users’ private communications. The lawsuit argues that WhatsApp’s privacy assurances are misleading and that user data is potentially accessible to the parent company.

Meta has rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless. Company spokesperson Andy Stone said claims that WhatsApp messages are not encrypted are “categorically false”.

“WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade,” Stone said in an emailed statement. He added that Meta intends to pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, calling the lawsuit “frivolous”.

WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption means messages are designed to be readable only by the sender and the recipient, a feature Meta says prevents even the company itself from accessing message content.