META, earlier known as Facebook, has no plans to roll out default end-to-end encryption for Instagram and Facebook Messenger till 2023. The social media giant had merged Instagram chats and Messenger last year to create a unified messaging platform across all of its subsidiaries.
While users can opt to achieve E2EE for messages sent through Messenger and Instagram, that choice isn’t turned on by default and likely won’t be until sometime in 2023, the verge reported. WhatsApp, another messaging platform owned by META, already supports end-to-end encryption by default.
Antigone Davis, META’s head of safety, attributed the delay to concerns over user safety, the report said quoting sources. Since E2EE means only the sender and recipient will see their conversations, Davis said META wants to ensure that this doesn’t interfere with the platform’s ability to help stop criminal activity.
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Once E2EE does become obtainable by default, Davis noted that the agency will “use a combination of non-encrypted data across our apps, account information and reports from users” to help keep them safe, all while “assisting public safety efforts.”
META had mentioned in a blog post earlier this year that default E2EE would become obtainable on Instagram and Messenger, “sometime in 2022 at the earliest.” But now, since META wants to “get this right,” Davis said the agency plans on delaying the attribute debut until 2023.
