Meta has scrapped end‑to‑end encryption for Instagram direct messages, effective today. The change means the platform can now read all private chats, a move that follows the company’s quiet opt‑in rollout that saw low adoption.

Users who once toggled encryption per conversation will find that feature gone. Meta cited low uptake and recommended WhatsApp for secure chats, while law‑enforcement and child‑safety groups had long urged the removal.

The decision arrives just 11 days before the Take It Down Act requires rapid takedown of non‑consensual intimate imagery. With encryption gone, Meta can access content needed to comply, potentially using it for product improvement or AI training.

Instagram now exposes every DM to Meta’s systems, a shift that could broaden data use across its ad ecosystem, even as WhatsApp and Messenger retain full encryption.