Meta is facing a major lawsuit from users around the world who say the company lied about keeping WhatsApp messages private.

The case was filed Friday in a San Francisco court and questions whether WhatsApp’s privacy features actually work the way the company claims. At the heart of the dispute is something called “end-to-end encryption” – a fancy term for a security system that’s supposed to keep your messages completely private.

WhatsApp has made this encryption feature a big part of how it markets itself to users. The company says it’s turned on automatically for everyone. When you’re chatting on WhatsApp, you even see a message saying “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” what you’re sending.

Here’s how end-to-end encryption is supposed to work: When you send a message, it gets scrambled up so much that only you and the person you’re talking to can read it. Not even WhatsApp or Meta should be able to see what you’re saying.

But the people suing Meta say that’s not actually true. They claim Meta and WhatsApp can still “store, analyze, and can access virtually all” of the messages users think are private. The lawsuit accuses the companies of lying to billions of WhatsApp users worldwide.

Meta Slams “Fictional” Lawsuit Over WhatsApp Encryption

The group bringing this lawsuit includes people from five different countries: Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. This shows that concerns about WhatsApp’s privacy aren’t just an American issue – they span the globe.

The lawsuit says Meta stores the actual content of what people are saying to each other, and that company workers can get access to read these messages. The complaint mentions “whistleblowers” who helped reveal this information, but doesn’t say who these people are or where they work.

Meta is fighting back hard. A company spokesperson called the lawsuit “frivolous” – basically saying it’s silly and has no merit. The company even said it plans to ask the court to punish the lawyers who filed it.

“Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” said Andy Stone, who speaks for Meta. “WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction.”

The “Signal protocol” Stone mentioned is actually a big deal. It’s an encryption system created by a nonprofit organization that’s considered one of the best and most secure ways to protect messages. Security experts trust it, and it’s been checked by independent researchers.

The $19 Billion Secret: Is WhatsApp Actually Private?

Meta bought WhatsApp back in 2014 for about $19 billion, one of the biggest tech deals ever. Since then, WhatsApp has grown huge, with billions of people using it around the world. It’s especially popular outside the United States.

The lawyers representing the people suing Meta come from well-known law firms. They want this to become a “class-action” lawsuit, which would mean they could represent all WhatsApp users who’ve been affected, not just the few people named in the case. Several of the lawyers didn’t respond when reporters asked for comments, and one lawyer said he couldn’t talk about it.

This lawsuit comes at a time when people are really worried about their privacy online. More and more users are asking questions about what happens to their personal information and whether the apps they use every day are really keeping their data safe. Companies now compete to convince users that their messages stay private.

What happens with this case could be really important. It might change how tech companies are allowed to advertise their privacy features and how much access they can have to user messages.

The big question at the center of everything is simple: Does WhatsApp’s encryption really work like Meta says it does, or can the company still read your supposedly private messages?

Both sides seem ready for a long legal battle. The people suing Meta need to prove their claims that the company can access encrypted messages. Meta needs to defend itself against accusations coming from users in multiple countries and from whistleblowers whose identities remain unknown.