‘When you rely on ads, privacy can never be priority,’ Sridhar Vembu opens up about ‘big problem’ with WhatsApp's security

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has commented on the ongoing controversy surrounding WhatsApp's encryption claims, pointing to a fundamental conflict of interest in Meta's advertising-driven business model.

Sridhar Vembu on ‘big problem’ with WhatsApp's security

His remarks come after a lawsuit filed in a US district court in San Francisco on Friday, accusing Meta of misleading billions of WhatsApp users about their privacy.

The plaintiffs, from countries including Australia, India, Mexico, and South Africa, claim the company's end-to-end encryption is essentially a facade.

"As a general principle, when you rely on ads based on user habits, privacy can never be the first priority. The conflict of interest is real and serious," Vembu wrote on X.

The Zoho boss added that when public market pressure demands ever-greater profits to justify "astronomical valuations," it becomes "naive to assume that these companies will put user privacy first."

As a general principle, when you rely on ads based on user habits, privacy can never be the first priority.

The conflict of interest is real and serious.

Combine that with public market pressure for ever greater profit to justify astronomical valuations ("wealth creation" is… https://t.co/EK17W9k8YX

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 27, 2026

Tech world reacts to WhatsApp controversy

The WhatsApp controversy has drawn reactions from across the tech industry. 

Meta has rejected all accusations. As reported by The Times of India, communications director Andy Stone called the claims "categorically false and absurd," saying WhatsApp has used Signal protocol encryption for a decade.

The company also warned about its plans to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs' lawyers.

Tesla boss Elon Musk warned users against WhatsApp, calling it insecure and even questioning Signal's reliability.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said, "You'd have to be braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026."

He even went on to claim that Telegram's analysis of WhatsApp's encryption implementation revealed "multiple attack vectors."

The 51-page lawsuit alleges that once Meta workers gain access, they can view messages in real-time through a widget, with no separate decryption required.

Messages reportedly appear commingled with content from unencrypted sources, accessible from the moment users first activated their accounts.

Vembu's critique stands out because it points to the structural problem of a company that makes money by tracking user behaviour will always face pressure to prioritise data collection over privacy.

His own company, Zoho, functions on a subscription model without advertising.

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