End-to-end encryption is only expected to be available on Instagram and Facebook Messenger in 2023. Previously, the company had promised to introduce the feature by 2022.
Contrary to what was promised, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) will definitely not be introduced on Messenger and Instagram in 2022 - reported about the The Guardian. Last year, the company unified the messaging features of Messenger and Instagram to enable users of the service to chat with each other. Text encryption has been available on both platforms since 2016, but it is not automatic, so optionally can be switched on and off. The original plan was for encrypted messages to become a default feature from 2022, but this has now been postponed to 2023.
The postponement may come as a number of organisations have expressed concerns about E2EE, as the feature takes away the ability to detect many of the most common hazards. A number of child protection organisations have also spoken out on the issue, saying that encrypted messages make it harder for authorities to detect sexual offences against children. WhatsApp chat, which is also part of the Meta empire, has had encrypted messaging as a default setting for years.
The essence of end-to-end encryption is that only the sender and receiver can see and hear the messages.
