The rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg has returned to the spotlight following reports about WhatsApp being under investigation in the US.
Musk’s latest post, a meme targeting the Facebook founder, was shared across social media platforms.
“Reminds me of this classic meme. Use X Chat instead of WhatsApp! There will never be ‘hooks for advertising’ in X Chat,” Musk said on X.
Reminds me of this classic meme ????
Use ???? Chat instead of WhatsApp! There will never be “hooks for advertising” in ???? Chat. https://t.co/K1WxjPhImI pic.twitter.com/wbte342hzp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2026
The comments came in reply to a post referring to allegations from former Meta contractors, who said company personnel could view WhatsApp conversations in spite of encryption safeguards. According to a Bloomberg report, the claims have prompted an investigation by US officials.
In response to reports about this investigation, WhatsApp said, “This is false. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security has disavowed this purported investigation, calling its own employees’ allegations unsubstantiated. What these individuals claim is not possible because WhatsApp, including contractors, cannot access people’s encrypted communications.”
This is false. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security has disavowed this purported investigation, calling its own employee’s allegations unsubstantiated. What these individuals claim is not possible because WhatsApp, including contractors, cannot access people’s encrypted…
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 30, 2026
WhatsApp has also sought to reassure users about its privacy credentials.
“Your WhatsApp messages are private. We use the open-source Signal protocol to encrypt them.
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Encryption happens on your device
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Messages are encrypted before leaving your device
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Only the intended recipient has the keys to decrypt messages
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The message encryption keys are not accessible to WhatsApp or Meta
Any claims to the contrary are false,” it said on X.
Your WhatsApp messages are private. We use the open-source Signal protocol to encrypt them.
• Encryption happens on your device
• Messages are encrypted before leaving your device
• Only the intended recipient has the keys to decrypt messages
• The…— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 27, 2026
Musk is not the only billionaire who has targeted WhatsApp over questions on its privacy policy. Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has said his company found multiple attack vectors on WhatsApp.
“You’d have to be brain-dead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026. When we analysed how WhatsApp implemented its ‘encryption’, we found multiple attack vectors,” he said.
You’d have to be braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026. When we analyzed how WhatsApp implemented its “encryption”, we found multiple attack vectors. https://t.co/BC1TWFAIlc
— Pavel Durov (@durov) January 26, 2026
Previously, Musk said, “WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable. Use X Chat.”
WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable.
Use ???? Chat. https://t.co/MWXCOmkbTD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2026
Musk’s meme has sparked reactions on X.
Reminds me of this classic pic.twitter.com/nRuLcIfw2s
— Arthur MacWaters (@ArthurMacwaters) January 30, 2026
One image highlighted how data from Meta companies could be potentially used for surveillance.
Oh Mark ???? pic.twitter.com/KxW7f3zSUL
— Jared Marsh (@Real_JaredMarsh) January 30, 2026
According to Forbes, questions around WhatsApp’s encryption have cropped up repeatedly over the years, yet none have been substantiated. No technical details have been made public that would suggest a change in that position. Content may be shared with WhatsApp only when users themselves choose to report a problem and there is no indication of any deliberate bypass orchestrated by Meta.
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