WhatsApp users may be covered by two proposed class actions alleging Meta Platforms and contractors could access messages WhatsApp describes as end-to-end encrypted. Meta denies the claims, no class has been certified, and there is nothing to claim.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Meta Platforms has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Two proposed class actions in San Francisco federal court allege that Meta Platforms and WhatsApp could access the content of WhatsApp messages the app tells users are end-to-end encrypted. Meta and WhatsApp deny the allegations and have called the central claim false. Neither case has been certified as a class action, and there is no settlement.Latest — September 26, 2026: In Dawson v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-00751 (N.D. Cal.), Meta’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint is fully briefed. Plaintiffs filed their opposition on September 15 and Meta filed its reply on September 22. The court vacated the October 20 hearing and will decide the motion on the papers unless it later sets argument. The related U.S. case, Shirazi v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-02615, was sent to arbitration and stayed on July 9, 2026.
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What the Lawsuits Allege
WhatsApp tells users that its end-to-end encryption means no one outside a chat, “not even WhatsApp,” can read personal messages. Both complaints claim that promise was not true in practice. Plaintiffs allege, largely on information and belief and citing unnamed whistleblowers, that some Meta workers could request access to a tool that displayed WhatsApp messages by user ID. The Shirazi complaint further alleges that Accenture contractors hired around 2021–2022 to review flagged content had broad access to message content, and the Dawson amended complaint adds allegations attributed to a former Meta contractor.The complaints also cite January 2026 press reports that federal investigators with the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security had interviewed former contractors about WhatsApp access. None of these claims has been tested in court.
What Meta Says
Meta and WhatsApp say ordinary user-to-user messages are protected by the Signal Protocol and that WhatsApp sees message content only in circumstances it discloses, such as when a user reports another user and the last few messages are shared. In its first motion to dismiss, Meta argued the complaint was an “extraordinary claim” built on “anonymous” sources without the detail federal fraud-pleading rules require. Meta says it sent plaintiffs’ lawyers an evidentiary proffer before moving to dismiss. It also moved for Rule 11 sanctions, which the court denied.The Two Cases
Dawson v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (No. 3:26-cv-00751, Judge Rita F. Lin) was filed January 23, 2026 by WhatsApp users who live outside the United States. It proposes a worldwide class of users who sent or received WhatsApp messages since April 5, 2016, excluding residents of the U.S., the U.K. and several European countries. Claims include the federal Wiretap Act, California’s Invasion of Privacy Act and computer-fraud statute, the California constitutional right to privacy, intrusion upon seclusion and breach of contract.Shirazi v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (No. 3:26-cv-02615) was filed March 25, 2026 on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of U.S. users, with California and Pennsylvania subclasses. It names WhatsApp, Meta and two Accenture entities. The court related it to Dawson in April. On July 9, 2026, the court held that the Shirazi plaintiffs’ claims must go to arbitration under WhatsApp’s terms of service and stayed the case, so U.S. users are not currently part of an active class action over these claims.
Case Timeline
• January 23, 2026 — Dawson complaint filed• March 25, 2026 — Shirazi complaint filed (U.S. users; Accenture also named)
• March 27, 2026 — Meta moves to dismiss Dawson
• April 2, 2026 — Court relates Shirazi to Dawson
• May 4, 2026 — Meta moves for Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel
• June 23, 2026 — Motion to dismiss argued before Judge Lin
• July 9, 2026 — Shirazi claims sent to arbitration; case stayed
• July 23, 2026 — Dawson dismissed with leave to amend; sanctions denied
• August 4, 2026 — Dawson plaintiffs file First Amended Complaint
• August 25, 2026 — Meta moves to dismiss the amended complaint
• August 26, 2026 — October 20 hearing vacated; motion to be decided on the papers
• September 15, 2026 — Plaintiffs’ opposition filed
• September 22, 2026 — Meta’s reply filed; motion fully briefed
Shirazi Class Action Complaint (PDF)
The complaint filed March 25, 2026 in Shirazi v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-02615 (N.D. Cal.). It contains unproven allegations.Meta’s Motion to Dismiss in Dawson (PDF)
Meta and WhatsApp’s March 27, 2026 motion to dismiss the original complaint in Dawson v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-00751 (Doc. 29). The court granted this motion with leave to amend on July 23, 2026.What Happens Next
Judge Lin will rule on Meta’s second motion to dismiss. If it is granted without leave to amend, the Dawson case would end at the district court, subject to appeal. If any claims survive, the case moves to discovery and, later, a class certification fight. There is no deadline for WhatsApp users to act and nothing to file. This page will be updated when the court rules.This lawsuit is separate from the WhatsApp social media addiction claims involving minors, which are part of a different litigation.
Questions
Is there a WhatsApp class action settlement?
No. Neither WhatsApp encryption case has settled, no class has been certified, and there is nothing to claim. Both cases are at an early stage and the claims are unproven allegations that Meta denies.
Can I join the WhatsApp encryption class action?
There is no sign-up. If a class is ever certified or a settlement is reached, members would be notified. The Dawson case proposes a class of users outside the United States, and the U.S. Shirazi case was sent to individual arbitration in July 2026.
Does Meta admit it can read WhatsApp messages?
No. Meta and WhatsApp call the core allegation false. In court filings they say ordinary WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted using the Signal Protocol, and that WhatsApp sees message content only in disclosed situations, such as when a user reports a chat.
What happened to the first Dawson complaint?
On July 23, 2026, Judge Rita F. Lin granted Meta’s motion to dismiss the original complaint, gave plaintiffs until August 13, 2026 to amend, and denied Meta’s separate request for Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiffs’ lawyers. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on August 4, 2026.
Why was the U.S. Shirazi case sent to arbitration?
WhatsApp’s terms of service contain an arbitration provision for U.S. users. On July 9, 2026, the court ruled that the Shirazi plaintiffs’ claims were subject to arbitration and stayed the lawsuit pending arbitration.
Sources
• Court docket: Dawson v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-00751 (N.D. Cal.) — complaint (Doc. 1), motion to dismiss (Doc. 29), order (Doc. 58), First Amended Complaint (Doc. 59), second motion to dismiss and briefing (Docs. 73–76)• Court docket: Shirazi v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-02615 (N.D. Cal.) — complaint (Doc. 1) and July 9, 2026 arbitration order
• Shirazi complaint (PDF) · Dawson motion to dismiss, Doc. 29 (PDF)
