In a surprising reversal, Meta has announced the permanent discontinuation of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Instagram direct messages, effective after May 8, 2026, citing extremely low user adoption as the primary reason for the move.

The feature, initially tested in 2021 and rolled out as an optional setting in select regions by late 2023, was never made default and only allowed participants in a chat to access messages, shielding them from Meta, authorities, or third parties.

Users with existing encrypted chats are being notified to download their messages and media before the deadline, after which all DMs will revert to standard, accessible formats that enable content moderation and scanning.

Privacy advocates, including cryptographer Matthew Green, have criticized the decision amid ongoing tensions between user privacy and regulatory demands for child safety and age verification. Meta recommends switching to WhatsApp, where E2EE remains default, while the status of similar encryption on Messenger remains unaddressed in the announcement.