What E2EE Protects (and What It Doesn't):
Posted: Wed May 21, 2025 4:47 am
E2EE is a powerful privacy tool, but it's essential to understand its limitations in the context of data collection:
Protects Message Content: The words you type, the images you send, the audio of your calls – this is the content that E2EE protects. WhatsApp cannot access this.
Does NOT Protect Metadata: E2EE does not cover metadata – data about your communications. This includes who you are messaging, when, how often, the duration of calls, your IP address (which can infer general location), device information, and details about your usage of the app's features. This metadata is the primary focus of WhatsApp's data collection for operational finland phone number list and business purposes.
Business Communications (Conditional): While messages to businesses are E2EE up to the point they reach the business's systems, if a business chooses to use Meta's hosting services or other third-party providers to manage its WhatsApp communications, then once decrypted on the business's server, the content of these messages becomes accessible to the business and its chosen service providers (including Meta, if hosting). This distinction was a major point of confusion and contention in the 2021 policy update.
Protects Message Content: The words you type, the images you send, the audio of your calls – this is the content that E2EE protects. WhatsApp cannot access this.
Does NOT Protect Metadata: E2EE does not cover metadata – data about your communications. This includes who you are messaging, when, how often, the duration of calls, your IP address (which can infer general location), device information, and details about your usage of the app's features. This metadata is the primary focus of WhatsApp's data collection for operational finland phone number list and business purposes.
Business Communications (Conditional): While messages to businesses are E2EE up to the point they reach the business's systems, if a business chooses to use Meta's hosting services or other third-party providers to manage its WhatsApp communications, then once decrypted on the business's server, the content of these messages becomes accessible to the business and its chosen service providers (including Meta, if hosting). This distinction was a major point of confusion and contention in the 2021 policy update.