The tech entrepreneur has accused WhatsApp of ‘frauding users’ over its backup practices
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has accused WhatsApp of misleading users about privacy, saying that Telegram offers strict protections for sensitive content.
The Russian tech entrepreneur has repeatedly criticized Meta-owned WhatsApp’s security design, dismissing claims that the app cannot access users’ communications.
In a series of posts on Sunday, Durov explained WhatsApp’s claims of “End-to-end encryption by default” like “massive consumer fraud,” alleging that most private emails are ultimately stored in clear-text cloud copies on Apple and Google servers.
“Add the fact that WhatsApp stores and reveals who you’re talking to, and the picture is grim,” he wrote, further claiming that Apple and Google provide data stored from the service to third parties. “Thousands of times a year.”
In response to a user who said he only shares intimate photos via Telegram, Durov replied: “Thank you for being honest – your nakedness is safe with us.”
Telegram, however, does not support end-to-end encryption by default. According to the company’s own documentation, only its ‘Secret Chat’ feature offers complete end-to-end protection, with standard messages stored in its cloud. Critics have identified cloud backups as a weak point in message privacy, as data stored outside of encrypted channels can be accessed under legal or breach requests.
Security researchers say that while WhatsApp’s core messages are end-to-end encrypted, its reliance on optional cloud backups could weaken these protections, potentially exposing user data if additional protections aren’t enabled.
Meta has long maintained that messages are protected by end-to-end encryption and cannot be accessed by the company. It also provides optional end-to-end encrypted backups for users who enable the feature.
In January, a major class action lawsuit filed against Meta Platforms in US district court by an international group of plaintiffs from several countries accused the company of making false claims about the privacy of its WhatsApp service.
Durov has criticized the platform for as long as a “monitoring device,” urging users to avoid it altogether, especially after its 2014 acquisition by Meta, then known as Facebook. In 2022, he warned that frequently discovered vulnerabilities in software were not accidental but could occur in the background.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone denied the claims, saying any claim that WhatsApp messages are unencrypted is false “utter lies and nonsense,” and explain the advice as “An absurd work of fiction.”
