Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May

Meta will be able to see the contents of messages between all users – which so far it only could for those who did not enable encryption. Picture: Getty

Instagram is to stop encrypting private messages between users from May, after enduring years of criticism from law enforcement and child safety groups over the feature.

Meta quietly announced this month on its help page for Instagram and in an updated 2022 news post that end-to-end encryption would no longer be available on direct messages between users on Instagram from May 8.