In a hard-hitting post on X, Telegram founder Pavel Durov dropped a bombshell: despite WhatsApp’s constant claims of “End to End encryption by default,” roughly 95% of private messages are stored in plain text on Apple or Google servers through unencrypted cloud backups. Backup encryption is optional, rarely enabled, and even when used, it often fails because the people you message haven’t secured their own backups.
Durov pointed out that even strong password-protected backups on one side don’t protect the conversation if the other person hasn’t done the same. On top of that, WhatsApp continues to store and disclose who you chat with, while Apple and Google hand over these backed-up messages to third parties thousands of times per year.
With over 40 years in tech, I’ve watched Big Tech repeatedly promise privacy while quietly building systems that make it meaningless for ordinary users. WhatsApp’s messages may be encrypted while traveling across the network, but once they land in iCloud or Google Drive without proper protection, that encryption becomes largely theoretical for most people.
In my experience, Telegram has been respectably consistent with its long-standing refusal to hand over message content — zero bytes disclosed in more than 12 years of operation. While Telegram’s default cloud chats rely on server-side storage (with true end-to-end limited to optional Secret Chats), the contrast in transparency and user control from "big tech" chat services like WhatsApp is striking.
The real takeaway is clear: stop placing blind trust in closed platforms that depend on massive cloud empires. These companies have every incentive to collect data and comply with requests, all while their marketing teams paper over the weaknesses.
True privacy demands more than slogans and empty claims. That’s why I’ve dedicated years to teaching thousands of students how to escape Big Tech’s grip using free and open-source software and Linux systems that actually put you in control.
Durov’s warning should be a wake-up call. Your private conversations deserve better than ending up as plain text on someone else’s servers. As I often say, if convenience is perceived as more important than security, we’ll continue paying the price with our personal data - and it's more important than you may imagine.
Links for further reading & research:
Original post by Pavel Durov exposing WhatsApp’s backup practices:
https://x.com/durov/status/2043338467355013211
Follow-up on mutual backup encryption failure:
https://x.com/durov/status/2043339772106506510
Independent Analysis & ComparisonsDetailed comparison of WhatsApp vs. Telegram privacy models:
https://tuvis.com/whatsapp-vs-telegram-privacy-security/
EFF article on chat app backups and their privacy risks:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/back-it-back-it-let-us-begin-explain-encrypted-chat-backups