Major change to Instagram DMs as Meta moves on security and switches off end-to-end encryption

Your Instagram DMs are now much less secure.

Over the weekend, Meta rolled out a major change that will allow Instagram to access the entire content of direct messages, including images, videos, and voice notes.

In a major step back, it turned off the end-to-end encryption (ETEE) option that allowed only the sender and recipient to view messages.

Meta had made ETEE available on its platforms since 2019. This was completed for Facebook Messenger in 2023 and made an optional feature for Instagram.

But now the tech giant has turned around and decided not to roll out wider on Instagram and will now only offer standard encryption. BBC reports.

Standard encryption allows internet service or network providers to access private messages when needed.

Meta did not announce the changes; instead, it was included in an update to the app’s terms and conditions.

“End-to-end encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after May 8, 2026.

“If you have chats affected by this change, you will see instructions on how to download media or messages you may want to keep,” he said.

The move received mixed reactions; The National Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children welcomed this because EETE “allowed perpetrators to evade detection, allowing the grooming and abuse of children to go unseen.”

But others, including privacy campaigners, were disappointed.

Big Brother Watch’s Maya Thomas told the BBC she was “disappointed” by the decision because E2EE “is one of the key ways children can keep their data safe online, so she is concerned Meta may bow to government pressure.”

There are also concerns that private messages may now be available for use in AI training.

Instagram users who prefer ETEE are advised to use Meta’s WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which still offer this feature.