Pavel Durov attacks WhatsApp's privacy claims, calling them false, as a U.S. lawsuit alleges Meta misled users about end-to-end encryption.

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, has dismissed claims that WhatsApp offers meaningful privacy, calling anyone who believes so "braindead," amid a U.S. class-action lawsuit accusing Meta of falsely promoting WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption. The lawsuit alleges Meta can access users’ messages despite encryption promises, citing unspecified whistleblower sources. Meta denies the allegations, calling them baseless. Durov has long criticized WhatsApp, particularly after its 2014 acquisition by Meta, and claims his team found multiple vulnerabilities in its encryption. Meanwhile, Telegram faces legal scrutiny in the EU over content moderation and has updated its policy to allow user data disclosure under legal requests. Russian officials have also criticized both apps over data transparency and national security.