Meta will discontinue support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Instagram chats after May 8, 2026, and affected users will be shown how to download any media or messages they want to keep. The move follows earlier testing and limited rollouts of E2EE, ongoing debates with law enforcement and child-safety advocates, and regulatory attention from the European Commission; #Meta #Instagram
Keypoints
- Meta will end E2EE support for Instagram chats after May 8, 2026.
- Users with impacted chats will receive instructions to download media or messages before the cutoff.
- E2EE was tested beginning in 2021 and was only available in some areas and not enabled by default.
- Law enforcement and child-safety advocates argue E2EE hinders investigations and enables criminals.
- The European Commission is preparing a Technology Roadmap to evaluate lawful-access solutions for encryption.
Read More: https://thehackernews.com/2026/03/meta-to-shut-down-instagram-end-to-end.html