Telegram CEO revives old Mark Zuckerberg chat to challenge WhatsApp privacy claims

Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov has reshared a screenshot of an old chat message sent by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, reigniting debate around data privacy and targeting WhatsApp’s claims on user protection.

The message, dating back to Zuckerberg’s time as a Harvard student shortly after founding Facebook, shows him joking about collecting personal information such as emails, photos, addresses and social security numbers from fellow students, and mocking the trust placed in him. While the exchange has circulated online for years, Durov brought it back into public discussion with a pointed comment aimed at Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

In a post on social media, Durov stated that the key difference between then and now is scale, adding that behaviour which once involved a few thousand users now affects billions globally. He argued that Meta’s reach has expanded dramatically and questioned how much trust users should place in the company’s assurances, particularly around WhatsApp’s privacy and encryption claims.

WhatsApp maintains that its messages are protected through end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient can read the content. However, critics have long pointed out that Meta can still collect metadata, including information about who users communicate with, how often and from where.

The only thing that’s changed since this conversation is the scale. Today, WhatsApp’s owner is privately laughing not at 4 thousand, but at 4 billion “dumb fucks” who trust his claims (like WhatsApp’s encryption). ???????????? pic.twitter.com/Yqnkw5qpQo

— Pavel Durov (@durov) February 2, 2026

Durov has repeatedly positioned Telegram as a more privacy-focused alternative. He has highlighted that Telegram does not display advertisements in private chats and offers secret chats with enhanced security features. He has also stated on multiple occasions that the platform resists sharing user data with governments except where legally required.

This is not the first time Durov has criticised Meta. In 2021, changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy triggered a surge of users migrating to Telegram, a moment Durov has frequently referenced when discussing trust and transparency in messaging platforms.

The resurfaced post spread rapidly online, drawing thousands of likes and reposts within hours. While many users supported Durov’s stance and praised him for highlighting data privacy concerns, others countered by pointing to Telegram’s own challenges, including its handling of harmful content and ongoing scrutiny over its origins and governance.

Despite the mixed reaction, the episode has renewed attention on how personal data is collected and used by major technology platforms, serving as a reminder for users to consider carefully which services they trust with their private communications.