Pavel Durov, the creator of Telegram, has sharply censured WhatsApp*, asserting that it constitutes a massive deception regarding its end-to-end encryption claims. He labels this potential “the greatest scam in history,” alleging that WhatsApp actually intercepts user messages and disseminates them to undisclosed third parties—including company staff, governmental bodies, and others—despite its prominent assurances of user privacy. This deceives billions of individuals who trust that their conversations are entirely secure.
WhatsApp*’s purported “encryption” might well be the largest fraud in history, having misled billions of users. Contrary to the platform’s public claims, the company reportedly accesses user messages and provides them to external entities. Telegram has abstained from this practice completely and never will engage in it.
This declaration follows a recent legal filing against WhatsApp‘s proprietor (January 2026). The lawsuit posits that Meta* possesses a “backdoor” enabling access to WhatsApp* communications, allowing employees and contractors to peruse correspondence under internal directives, particularly for purposes related to content moderation, anti-fraud efforts, or in response to official governmental requests.
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