Elon Musk’s accusations that WhatsApp exports user data every night” have been met with a swift reaction from WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart.
Contrary to what Cathcart claimed, WhatsApp uses complete encryption from beginning to end for messages because it takes security very seriously. Cathcart also mentioned that customers and their cloud providers might utilise complete encryption from beginning to end to back up their messages.
The CEO of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, responded to Elon Musk’s allegation on X (formerly Twitter) that WhatsApp exports customer data every night. Cathcart clarified that the accusation was “not true” and reassured users that their interactions on the platform would remain private and secure.
He emphasised WhatsApp’s dedication to encryption, which guarantees that user messages are entirely private and unreadable by anybody, not even WhatsApp.
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This means that the corporation cannot export or distribute user data without the knowledge or approval of the users because it does not have access to the content of the users’ discussions. Cathcart tries to calm down worries about user privacy and enhance WhatsApp’s standing as a reliable and secure service by highlighting this point.
Meta’s AI chief defends WhatsApp’s security
Chief of artificial intelligence at parent firm Meta, Yann LeCun, has also joined in, challenging Mr Musk’s statements in an X post that uses more formal terminology.
Additionally, Mr LeCun attacked Mr Musk on the Meta platform Threads, claiming he was “emitting conspiracy ideas” on his social media site and making inaccurate and irrational statements regarding artificial intelligence.
Musk is known for stirring up controversy online, including everything from fired former employees to submariners. Mr Cathcart is correct in this particular case when he says that the only people who can view the contents of a WhatsApp message are the sender and the person receiving it. The company is so serious about message encryption that it once declared it would prefer to be prevented in the UK than have its encryption techniques exposed.
Metadata: Understanding what WhatsApp shares with Meta companies
Mr Musk’s vague language – simply saying that “user data” was being uploaded – could be interpreted to refer to metadata (information), the extra bits of data sent alongside the actual message.
“WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted, but user data is not only about messages,” said security researcher Tommy Mysk in a post on X.
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That also includes the information such as user location, which contacts the user is communicating with, the patterns of when the user is online, etc.”
It is known that WhatsApp shares some information with other platforms Meta owns, but this does not include messages.
According to Dr Tristan Henderson, a computer science lecturer at the University of St Andrews, sharing data by WhatsApp with other Meta companies has been one area of particular worry.
This includes sufficient information for these Meta companies to make suggestions and show personalised adverts, which shows what information metadata can reveal. According to the WhatsApp privacy policy, the company would utilise specific user data to show relevant offers and adverts across the Meta Company Products.