Overview
- WhatsApp introduced an optional Strict Account Settings mode that blocks attachments from non-contacts, disables link previews, and silences unknown callers, alongside backend hardening that moves key components to Rust.
- The Jan. 23 class action alleges Meta staff can retrieve WhatsApp message contents via an internal tasking system in near real time and historically without additional decryption.
- Meta rejects the claims as false, reiterating WhatsApp’s use of the Signal protocol for end-to-end encryption and saying it will seek sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel.
- Cryptographers and privacy lawyers described the filing as light on technical detail, noting no evidence of a cryptographic backdoor and pointing instead to known edge cases like user-reported messages or unencrypted cloud backups.
- The proposed class seeks to represent non-U.S. and non-EU users since 2016, while high-profile rivals including Elon Musk and Telegram’s Pavel Durov criticized WhatsApp’s security without providing technical substantiation.