Instagram is removing end-to-end encryption

Instagram is turning off end-to-end encryption for its chats. The Meta-owned app quietly updated its help pages to say that the feature will no longer be supported after May 8. The change rolls back a privacy tool the company had previously promoted across its messaging products.

End-to-end encryption stops anyone but the sender and recipient from reading messages, including the platform itself. Once Instagram removes it, the service will again be able to access the contents of user chats, and those messages may be more exposed to requests from governments, law enforcement, or data access inside the company.