Pavel Durov Says You'd Have To Be 'Braindead' To Believe WhatsApp Is Secure In 2026 As Lawsuit Puts Question Mark On App's Encryption

On Monday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) messaging platform WhatsApp is not secure.

His statement came as Meta faces a lawsuit accusing it of misleading users about the privacy of WhatsApp chats.

Durov Questions WhatsApp Encryption Claims

Durov took to X and said people who think WhatsApp is secure in 2026 are "braindead."

He alleged that when they analyzed the platform's encryption, "we found multiple attack vectors."

This isn't the first time Durov has made such comments. In 2022, Durov said he deleted WhatsApp years ago because he believes hackers can easily access the devices of WhatsApp users.

Lawsuit Alleges Meta Misled Users Worldwide

Durov also shared news about Meta getting accused by an international group of plaintiffs in a lawsuit on Friday.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco accused the Mark Zuckerberg-led tech giant of making misleading claims about WhatsApp's privacy measures, reported Bloomberg.

According to the lawsuit, while Meta markets WhatsApp as fully end-to-end encrypted, it can store, analyze and "access virtually all of WhatsApp users' purportedly ‘private' communications."

Meta Rejects Claims As ‘Frivolous'

In a statement to the publication, Meta denied the allegations callingthe lawsuit "frivolous."

Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.

Google Flags WhatsApp Android Zero-Click Vulnerability

Shortly after Durov's comments, Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary, Google's Project Zero, revealed a WhatsApp vulnerability on Android, reported Neowin.

As per Project Zero, the vulnerability allows a targeted attack through automatic downloads. The flaw also allows attackers to exploit group chats by using malicious media files that can be automatically downloaded on a victim's device.

As per the report, the vulnerability was privately reported to Meta last year in September, but was made public in November after the company failed to fix it. While Meta reportedly started working on a fix in December, the ticket has not been updated.

Meta is set to report its fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday after the market close.

Price Action: Meta shares gained 2.06% on Monday and rose another 0.14% in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.

Meta shows a stronger short-term price trend but remains negative over the medium and long term, with weak momentum, according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings.