Elon Musk's Diss Answered? - WhatsApp Launches 'Strict Account Settings'

Is WhatsApp really safe and protecting your data? In the middle of a shocking public debate over online privacy and encryption, WhatsApp has rolled out a new security feature aimed at strengthening defences for users at risk of sophisticated cyber-attacks.

The update arrives almost immediately after high-profile criticism of WhatsApp's security from various technologists and business leaders, including Elon Musk, who questioned the platform's trustworthiness and privacy guarantees. WhatsApp's new 'Strict Account Settings' plans to give users much more control over what content and contacts can interact with their accounts. It is part of a bigger effort by Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, to reassure its more than two billion global users that their conversations remain private, even as legal challenges and criticisms about security continue to come up.

Also, the timing of this launch has led many to think whether it is a direct response to Musk's comments. The feature, which resembles a lockdown mode, makes the app more restrictive in how it accepts messages, media and incoming requests, while simultaneously tightening visibility of profile information.

Elon Musk's Criticism of WhatsApp

Now, Elon Musk's viral comments about WhatsApp's security have scorched up an already heated discussion about digital privacy. In late January 2026, Musk took to the social platform X (formerly Twitter) to say that 'WhatsApp is not secure' and even called into question the safety of other encrypted messaging services, including Signal, telling users to consider alternatives like 'X Chat'. Here is the tweet:

Moreover, his comments were made in the context of a class-action lawsuit filed against Meta in San Francisco, which alleges that the company misled users about the privacy of their messages. According to these legal claims, WhatsApp could access messages despite its promise of end-to-end encryption, which is made so that only the sender and recipient can read communications.

Furthermore, Musk's comments may serve both as a genuine worry about user privacy and as a method to promote his own messaging endeavours within the X ecosystem. In response to Musk, WhatsApp's leadership firmly rebutted his claims. Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, labelled the criticisms 'totally false' and explained that WhatsApp cannot read users' messages because the encryption keys are stored only on individual devices. He also pointed out that the lawsuit cited by Musk was based on unnamed whistle-blowers with no substantiated technical proof and warned that the legal action appeared to be made more for headlines than for substance. Meta's spokesperson, Andy Stone, also gave a similar statement, calling the lawsuit 'frivolous' and putting forward that WhatsApp has used end-to-end encryption for years.

Also, Musk's intervention is very important given his influence in the tech world and his ownership of X. He is not alone, as other big tech figures, such as Telegram's Pavel Durov, also publicly questioned WhatsApp's claims about security, asserting that some users would have to be 'braindead' to believe WhatsApp is fully secure.

WhatsApp's 'Strict Account Settings' and How It Works

While not explicitly said, in seemingly direct response to heightened worries about privacy and security, WhatsApp has launched a new feature called 'Strict Account Settings'. This optional mode acts like a lockdown setting, giving users an extra layer of protection against a bunch of potential cyber threats.

Once activated from the app's settings under Privacy and then Advanced, it automatically applies the most restrictive settings available. The changes reportedly include blocking all media and attachments from senders not saved in the user's contacts list, silencing calls from unknown numbers, and disabling link previews that could inadvertently expose information or facilitate phishing attacks. The feature also limits who can add the user to groups and hides details such as profile photos, status updates and online presence from non-contacts.

Furthermore, these measures are intended for users who believe they may be targets of sophisticated cyber-attacks, such as journalists, activists or politicians, although any user concerned about security can enable the mode. Importantly, enabling the mode does not remove end-to-end encryption, which remains the standard for message privacy on the platform. WhatsApp has also implemented back-end enhancements, such as transitioning massive portions of its codebase to the Rust programming language to help protect against certain types of spyware and memory vulnerabilities. The feature began rolling out in late January 2026 and will be available to users over the coming weeks.