Will credible evidence emerge before 2027 that Meta can access the content of WhatsApp messages despite end-to-end encryption claims?

Prediction market on metaculus. On January 23, 2026, an international group of plaintiffs [filed a class-action lawsuit](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-25/lawsuit-claims-meta-can-see-whatsapp-chats-in-breach-of-privacy) against Meta Platforms, Inc. in US District Court in San Francisco, alleging that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption claims are false. The plaintiffs—from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa—allege that Meta and WhatsApp “store, analyze, and can access virtually all of WhatsApp users’ purportedly ‘private’ communications.” WhatsApp has promoted end-to-end encryption as a core privacy feature since implementing the [Signal protocol](https://signal.org/docs/) in 2016. The app displays in-chat notices stating that “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” messages. End-to-end encryption means that encryption keys are stored only on users’ devices, theoretically preventing even the service provider from accessing message content. [The lawsuit](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.463150/gov.uscourts.cand.463150.1.0.pdf) references unnamed “whistleblowers” who allegedly provided information about Meta’s ability to access messages. One claim suggests employees could submit internal requests to retrieve messages in real time using user identifiers. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone called the allegations “categorically false and absurd” and described the lawsuit as “a frivolous work of fiction,” stating that WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart [stated](https://x.com/wcathcart/status/2016003768694014092) the company “can’t read messages because the encryption keys are stored on your phone.” In September 2025, former WhatsApp security head Attaullah Baig [separately sued](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/08/ex-meta-employee-whistleblower-suit-alleged-security-flaws-whatsapp-.html) Meta over alleged “systemic cybersecurity failures.”

Resolves: 1/6/2027.