Instagram is getting rid of end-to-end encrypted DMs that ‘very few’ people used

The Verge / 3/14/2026

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Key Points

Instagram will stop supporting end-to-end encrypted direct messages on May 8, citing low user adoption of E2EE in DMs.
Impacted users are being notified in-app and via Instagram's help page, with instructions to export or download E2EE chats and images before the change.
Meta suggests that users seeking encrypted messaging can continue using WhatsApp, signaling a shift of encrypted conversations away from Instagram.
The move highlights privacy-security trade-offs in mainstream social apps and could reshape user expectations for secure messaging on Instagram.

Instagram will no longer support end-to-end encrypted messages starting May 8th. In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce says the platform is discontinuing the feature because "very few people" were using E2EE in their DMs.

Instagram has begun notifying impacted users about the change inside its app, and has also posted an update to its support page, suggesting that users download E2EE chats and images before it discontinues the feature, as spotted earlier by PiunikaWeb. "Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp," El-Kassaby Luce adds.

After bringing E2EE to Wh …

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