Meta is pulling the plug on Instagram's end-to-end encrypted messaging feature, marking a rare retreat on privacy protections that the company spent years rolling out. Starting May 8th, users will lose the ability to send E2EE direct messages on the platform. Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce told The Verge the feature is being discontinued because "very few people" were actually using it, with the company directing privacy-conscious users to WhatsApp instead.
Meta just made a surprising about-face on privacy. The company announced it's discontinuing end-to-end encryption for Instagram direct messages, a feature it spent considerable engineering resources building out over the past few years. The change takes effect May 8th, giving users less than two months to download their encrypted conversations before they're converted to standard DMs.
The reasoning is blunt. "Very few people" were using E2EE in their Instagram messages, Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce told The Verge. It's a rare admission from Meta that a privacy feature failed to gain traction, especially one the company publicly championed as essential for user safety. Instagram has started notifying affected users through in-app messages and updated its support documentation with instructions for downloading encrypted content before the cutoff date.
Meta's solution? Just use WhatsApp instead. "Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp," El-Kassaby Luce added. It's a telling statement about Meta's messaging strategy - rather than maintain encryption across multiple platforms, the company appears content to consolidate privacy-focused features on its dedicated messaging app while keeping Instagram focused on public sharing and creator content.
