WhatsApp has strongly refuted recent allegations made by Elon Musk - CEO of Tesla and SpaceX - who claimed that the messaging app exports user data every night.
Musk, known for his outspoken social media presence, took to his platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice concerns over the security of Meta's instant messaging application.
Musk's post was prompted by a 12-hour recap from last Saturday, where he wrote: "WhatsApp exports your user data every night. Some people still think it is secure." This statement quickly garnered attention, sparking a debate on the platform about the app's security practices.
In response, Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp’s development and strategy, issued a clarifying statement. "Many have said this already, but worth repeating: this is not correct.
We take security seriously, and that's why we end-to-end encrypt your messages. They don't get sent to us every night or exported to us," Cathcart stated emphatically.
Adding another layer to the discussion, security researcher Tommy Mysk entered the conversation, providing a nuanced perspective. Mysk acknowledged that while WhatsApp messages are indeed end-to-end encrypted, Musk's concerns about metadata cannot be entirely dismissed.
"WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted, but user data is not only about messages. That also includes metadata such as user location, which contacts the user is communicating with, the patterns of when the user is online, etc.," Mysk explained. "This metadata, according to your privacy policy, is indeed used for targeted ads across Meta services. So @elonmusk is right."
This is not the first time Musk has publicly criticised messaging applications. Just weeks prior, he had accused Signal, another popular messaging app, of collaborating with the United States government, a claim that was met with widespread skepticism.
