Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May

Meta's announcement comes after years of criticism from child safety groups over feature

Instagram will stop encrypting private messages between users from May, after enduring years of criticism from law enforcement and child safety groups over the feature.

Meta quietly announced this month on its help page for Instagram and in an updated 2022 news post that end-to-end encryption would no longer be available on direct messages between users on Instagram from 8 May 2026.