WhatsApp users ALERT! Telegram CEO makes EXPLOSIVE claim; warns users to stay away from WhatsApp; know why

Telegram CEO Durov claimed that it doesn't matter whether a person is the richest person on earth, if WhatsApp is installed on his phone, then all his data from every app on the phone is accessible

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) had also warned WhatsApp users about hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in WhatsApp through a video call.

In a shocking claim that may be a cause of concern for over two billion WhatsApp users, Telegram founder and chief executive officer Pavel Durov has made a shocking claim about messaging platform WhatsApp. Durov termed WhatsApp a surveillance tool and warned users to stay away from it.

In a Telegram post which went viral, Durov claimed that hackers could gain access to everything on the phones of WhatsApp users.

"Hackers could have full access to everything on the phones of WhatsApp users. This was possible through a security issue disclosed by WhatsApp itself last week. All a hacker had to do to control your phone was send you a malicious video or start a video call with you on WhatsApp," said Durov in his post.

He said that even if WhatsApp users update the app to the latest version, they won't be safe from hackers. 

"A WhatsApp security issue exactly like this one was discovered in 2018, then another in 2019 and yet another one in 2020. And yes, in 2017 before that. Prior to 2016, WhatsApp didn't have encryption at all. Every year, we learn about some issue in WhatsApp that puts everything on their users' devices at risk. Which means it's almost certain that a new security flaw already exists there. Such issues are hardly incidental – they are planted backdoors. If one backdoor is discovered and has to be removed, another one is added," claimed Durov.

The Telegram CEO claimed that it doesn't matter whether a person is the richest person on earth, if WhatsApp is installed on his phone, then all his data from every app on the phone is accessible, 'as Jeff Bezos found out in 2020'. 

Hackers could have full access (!) to everything on the phones of WhatsApp users – https://t.co/kefCbrdpc8 — Pavel Durov (@durov) October 5, 2022

"That's why I deleted WhatsApp from my devices years ago. Having it installed creates a door to get into your phone. I'm not pushing people to switch to Telegram here. With 700M+ active users and 2M+ daily signups, Telegram doesn't need additional promotion. You can use any messaging app you like, but do stay away from WhatsApp – it has now been a surveillance tool for 13 years," alleged Durov.

It may be recalled that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) had also warned WhatsApp users about hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in WhatsApp through a video call.