From the next one May 8thi Direct messages on Instagram will no longer be protected by end-to-end encryption. Meta communicated the decision through its official support page, with a meager note that leaves more than one question open.
The business justification is that of low usage. A company spokesperson said that very few users turned on encryption in private chats, which is why the option will be removed in the coming months. Those who want to continue writing with end-to-end encryption, Meta added, can do so on WhatsApp.
It’s a shame that, as emerged from various tests, the function had never really been promoted: to activate it, at least four steps in the menu were needed, and availability was never extended to all users. In practice, Meta is eliminating a feature that it had never had an interest in growing, used by few people.
What is end-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption is a message protection system which works via unique cryptographic keys assigned to the devices involved in a conversation. The message is encrypted during transmission and can only be deciphered by authorized participants — not by the platform, not by third parties, not by Meta itself. It is the strongest form of protection for private digital communicationsbecause even in the event of a server violation, the contents would remain unreadable.
With the removal of the feature, Meta will regain the technical ability to access the contents of conversations on Instagrama case that paves the way for automated moderation, content detection using artificial intelligence and the possibility of responding to requests from judicial authorities.
A reversal of seven years of promises
In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the importance of encryption, describing a vision focused on privacy as the inevitable future of social networking. He wrote that not even Meta could have read the contents of the messages. Seven years later the company radically changed its mind.
The change of course is not isolated. As reported by the BBC, two weeks ago TikTok had announced that it would not introduce end-to-end encryption in its direct messages, arguing that the technology could make the platform less secure, limiting its ability to detect potential malicious activity. Two large platforms, in two weeks, that decide to follow the same direction.
Users currently using encrypted chats will receive an in-app notification with instructions to download messages and media files before the May 8 deadline. Meta did not clarify whether the encrypted conversations will be deleted after that date.
Source: Instagram Help Center
