Instagram is set to stop encrypting private messages between users from May.
This comes after enduring years of criticism from law enforcement and child safety groups over the feature.
The Meta company announced on its Instagram help page that end-to-end encryption would no longer be available for direct messages between users on Instagram, effective May 8, 2026.
According to reports, Meta has endured criticism from child safety groups and an alliance of law enforcement, including the FBI, Interpol, the UK’s National Crime Agency and the Australian federal police, who argued it would weaken the ability to keep children safe online.
A spokesperson for the Australian eSafety commissioner’s office said strong encryption plays an important role in protecting privacy and security but where deployed, platforms should also prevent, detect and respond to harm.
Meta is set to stop end-to-end encryption in Instagram
“Where end-to-end encryption is implemented without appropriate safety measures, it can increase safety risks and prevent the identification of harms such as child sexual exploitation, terrorism and violent extremism,” the spokesperson said.
This means that Meta will be able to see the contents of messages between all users, which so far it could only do for those who did not enable encryption.
Reports indicate that the feature already appears deactivated for Australian users.
