Meta removes encryption from Instagram's private messages, putting users' privacy at risk

Seven years ago, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg announced with great enthusiasm that the future belongs to privacy. Today, the same company has decided to remove End-to-End Encryption from Instagram’s Direct Messages, which is a major U-turn.

End-to-End Encryption is actually a digital lock that ensures that a sent message can only be read by the sender and recipient, and that no third party or organization can see it. Now, after the removal of this feature, Meta itself and internet service providers will also be able to access users’ private messages.

Meta’s position is that this change has been implemented since Friday and the reason given is that very few people were using the feature, so it was not beneficial to continue it. A company spokesperson said that those who want to keep their messages safe should use WhatsApp, where the feature is still available.

However, critics say that low usage is not a valid reason to remove a feature, the real question is whether a company can compromise user privacy for its own financial or other interests. The decision is once again fueling the debate about how much trust can be placed on big technology companies.