The social networking platform Instagram has just announced that it will stop supporting End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) for direct messages (Direct Message - DM) from May 8, 2026. This decision was announced on the platform's official support page.
According to a notice from Meta (the group that owns Instagram), users who are having encrypted conversations will need to download messages and related media files before this feature is discontinued. After the above time, end-to-end encrypted conversations will no longer be supported on Instagram.
Meta said that affected users will receive detailed instructions on how to backup data before the change takes effect.
People who are using the old version of Instagram are also recommended to update the application to be able to download encrypted messages and content.
However, Instagram's support department did not specify the reason for terminating this feature. In an exchange with the technology site The Verge, a Meta spokesperson said that "very few people" use the end-to-end encryption feature in live messages on Instagram.
According to the company, those who want to continue using this security feature can switch to the WhatsApp platform, where E2EE is applied by default.
In fact, unlike WhatsApp, Instagram has never deployed end-to-end encryption for all users. This feature is only provided as an option and mainly in certain areas. Therefore, the level of use is considered quite limited.
End-to-end encryption is a security technology that ensures that only senders and recipients can read the message content. In encrypted conversations, data is protected by separate security keys, helping to prevent third parties from accessing content.
Instagram's decision also reflects the change in Meta's encryption strategy over the years. Since 2016, the company has deployed default end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp conversations. Three years later, Meta announced its goal of expanding encryption on many other platforms.
However, in 2021, this plan was delayed when Meta announced that it would postpone the deployment of comprehensive encryption features to a later stage.
Instagram's cessation of E2EE support for live messaging is considered the next adjustment step in Meta's strategy of security and operating the application ecosystem.
