Instagram chats will be ending end-to-end encryption starting in May. Meta believes that WhatsApp is enough for those who want secure messaging

«Very few people used end-to-end encryption in direct messages, so we are removing this option from Instagram in the coming months. Anyone who wants to continue messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do so on WhatsApp,» a Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying by Wired.

At the same time, for a long time, as the publication writes, Meta implemented end-to-end encryption by default, and when such encryption was introduced «by default» in Messenger, it was presented as a «victory.»

Experts are paying particular attention to how Meta justifies its decision to remove end-to-end encryption for Instagram chat — it simply explained this by low usage.

«They designed this feature so that no one could find it, and then removed it because it wasn’t easy enough to find and therefore unpopular. It’s very cynical,» comments cryptography and online security expert Davey Ottenheimer.

At the same time, as Wired writes, the implementation of end-to-end encryption by default has long been an extremely sensitive issue for Meta, as numerous court documents from lawsuits against the company indicate that Meta did not properly protect underage Instagram users.

Interestingly, Meta Corporation is being sued over claims that its employees can allegedly access WhatsApp users' messages, despite end-to-end encryption.

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