Meta does not plan to implement end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on Facebook and Instagram. The technology, which has long been available on WhatsApp, is not expected to arrive on the company’s other two social networks until at least 2023.
In a Telegraph article, Antigone Davis, Meta’s chief security officer, attributed the delay to user security concerns. Since E2EE encryption means only the sender and receiver can see your conversations, Davis said the company won’t be able to stop criminal activity within the platforms.
The solution, according to Meta’s chief security officer, is to use a combination of unencrypted data in apps, account information and user reports when E2EE technology is available as standard on Facebook and Instagram.
End-to-end encryption is not expected to hit Facebook and Instagram until 2023. Image: Gil C – shutterstock
Last year, Meta merged Messenger and Instagram chats as part of a plan to create a unified messaging system across all of its platforms. While messages sent via Messenger and Instagram can be E2EE, this option is not enabled by default.
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Also in 2023, the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which will require online platforms to protect children and deal quickly with abusive content, will come into force. This might hamper Facebook’s plans to enable end-to-end encryption by default, as UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has criticized its use in the past. According to a BBC report, Patel claims that E2EE can make it more difficult to prevent child abuse online.
In 2022, the United States joined the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and Japan in a call to provide backdoor encryption access to local authorities, which would allow them to view encrypted messages and files if a warrant were issued.
