Instagram ends full privacy on Direct Messages and warns users to download personal texts …

Despite Instagram’s sister app, WhatsApp, using encrypted privacy as a core feature to reassure users, the company is switching the privacy function off for Instagram direct messages Instagram direct messages will no longer be fully private, with Meta announcing that it is to turn off encryption on messages from May 8th. It means that Meta will now be able to access or monitor content in users’ private, direct messages, including old ones. In an update, Instagram has advised users to “download any media or messages that you may want to keep”. The move comes despite Instagram’s sibling app, WhatsApp touting encryption as a core reason to use the service to protect users’ privacy. Messenger also uses privacy encryption by default to reassure users. “End-to-end encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May 2026,” the company said in an update. “If you have chats that are affected by this change, you will see instructions on how you can download any media or messages that you may want to keep. End-to-end encrypted messages and calls ensure that only you and the people that you’re communicating with can see or listen to what is sent, and no one else
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