• by Colin Kirkland , May 8, 2026

Instagram’s 3 billion global users will no longer be able to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages in the social platform’s chat feature, as Meta announces a notable change in its approach to user privacy.

Meta’s encrypted messaging technology -- “E2EE” -- was first integrated into the tech giant’s Messenger app in 2023 as a default setting, then later rolled out to Instagram as an opt-in setting, providing users with the ability to keep their direct messages private from Meta and other users.   

However, the company decided in March not to renew its E2EE Instagram functionality, stating on its Support page that “end-to-end encrypted messages on Instagram will no longer be supported after May 8, 2026.”

Moving forward, service and network providers are able to access Instagram DMs per the newly enforced coverage of standard encryption.

According to a Meta spokesperson, the feature has been discontinued due to a lack of usage. 

Although end-to-end encryption will remain available on Meta’s Messenger and WhatsApp apps, the removal from the Instagram inbox has pleased child protection groups concerned about harmful and predatory behavior going undetected between users. 

“We are really pleased,” Rani Govender from the NSPCC told BBC, adding that E2EE “can allow perpetrators to evade detection, enabling the grooming and abuse of children to go unseen.”