Meta to discontinue end-to-end encrypted messaging on Instagram.

Meta has announced that it will discontinue support for Instagram's end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging on May 8, 2026.

What is Instagram's end-to-end encryption? | Instagram Help Center

Meta is killing end-to-end encryption for Instagram DMs soon
https://9to5google.com/2026/03/13/meta-is-killing-end-to-end-encryption-for-instagram-dms-soon/

Instagram will discontinue end-to-end encryption from 8th May
https://piunikaweb.com/2026/03/13/instagram-to-stop-supporting-end-to-end-encrypted-dms-after-may-8/

Instagram is getting rid of end-to-end encrypted DMs that 'very few' people used | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/tech/894752/instagram-end-to-end-encryption

Instagram messages are sent and received via the servers of Meta, the service provider. End-to-end encryption means that the keys for encrypting and decrypting messages only exist on the devices of the parties involved, so no one other than the parties involved, including Meta which operates the servers, can see the contents of the messages.

However, it has been revealed that support for end-to-end encryption in Instagram DMs will be discontinued as of May 8, 2026.

Meta introduced end-to-end encryption to WhatsApp and Messenger, and then to Instagram in 2023, meaning it was available for approximately three years.

According to Meta, the reason for discontinuing support is that 'very few users were utilizing end-to-end encrypted messaging.'

However, as mentioned earlier, end-to-end encryption is characterized by its high level of privacy protection, meaning that 'only the parties exchanging the message can see its contents.' Conversely, it is seen by regulators as 'hindering the protection of children's safety,' and some believe that Meta succumbed to this pressure.