Meta sued over claims employees and third parties accessed private WhatsApp messages

Meta Platforms is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company allowed employees, contractors, and third parties to access private messages on WhatsApp without users’ knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco, claims Meta misled billions of users by promoting WhatsApp as a platform where messages are fully protected by end-to-end encryption.

According to the complaint, the company allegedly stored, reviewed, and analysed certain messages despite telling users that only the sender and recipient could read them.

Plaintiffs argue that WhatsApp’s privacy assurances influenced their decision to use the messaging platform, which has more than two billion users worldwide.

The lawsuit was reportedly brought by a group of plaintiffs from several countries, including Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa, who claim the alleged practices violated privacy laws and misrepresented the level of security offered by the app.

Among the laws cited in the case is the U.S. Federal Wiretap Act, which restricts the unauthorised interception or monitoring of electronic communications.

The plaintiffs argue that allowing internal teams or outside contractors to access message content could undermine the fundamental privacy promises that WhatsApp has repeatedly made to users.

However, Meta has strongly rejected the allegations.

In response to the lawsuit, the company said WhatsApp messages remain protected by end-to-end encryption powered by the Signal Protocol, which prevents anyone outside the conversation, including the company itself, from reading messages.

A spokesperson for Meta described the lawsuit as “absurd” and “frivolous,” maintaining that the platform’s encryption system has long ensured that user conversations remain private.

The case is still in its early stages, and a court will determine whether the claims can proceed.

If the lawsuit moves forward, it could raise broader questions about how encrypted messaging services operate and whether tech companies provide enough transparency about how user data is handled.

With billions of users relying on WhatsApp for everyday communication, the outcome of the case could have significant implications for digital privacy and trust in messaging platforms worldwide.