WhatsApp Boss Disputes Elon Musk's Claims of Data Export
On October 5, 2023, Elon Musk, CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), accused WhatsApp of exporting user data every night, claiming the messaging app is insecure. The allegation prompted a swift rebuttal from Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp at Meta, who countered Musk's statements on X, emphasizing that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be read by the company.
Yann LeCun, Meta's chief of artificial intelligence, also criticized Musk, accusing him of spreading misinformation about WhatsApp and possessing contradictory views on artificial intelligence.
While Cathcart reaffirmed that only the sender and recipient can read WhatsApp messages, security researcher Tommy Mysk clarified that metadata, such as user locations and contact patterns, may still be subject to sharing. WhatsApp does share some metadata with other Meta platforms, primarily for targeted advertising, as outlined in the company’s privacy policy.
Musk has previously made controversial statements about other messaging platforms, including Signal, drawing criticism for his unverified claims. Meta has yet to comment further on the accusations.