Last week, **Instagram** officially ended its rarely used, opt-in end-to-end encryption feature. This marks a significant departure from **Meta's** earlier pledges to provide default end-to-end encryption across its platforms, a commitment now seemingly abandoned. Users have now lost an option for safer conversations on a widely used social media platform. # A Broken Promise In 2023, **Meta** touted its success in encrypting **Messenger**, hinting that **Instagram** was next in line. A 2022 white paper further emphasized the importance of encryption for both **Messenger** and **Instagram**, stating the company's intention to "thoughtfully build and implement e2ee by default across Messenger and Instagram DMs." # Blaming the User **Meta** claims that “Very few people were opting in to end-to-end encrypted messaging in DMs.” However, enabling the feature involved an optional, multi-step process that was largely unknown to users. This highlights the importance of default settings and raises questions about **Meta's** commitment to user privacy. The company now directs users to **WhatsApp** for encrypted messaging, but fails to provide a unified secure communication experience across its platforms. # A Disappointing Trend This decision is particularly disheartening given the progress made by other companies, such as **Google** and **Apple's** collaboration on implementing end-to-end encryption over Rich Communication Services (**RCS**), and **Signal's** ongoing efforts to simplify secure communication for everyone. **Meta's** abandonment of its encryption promise is especially concerning as users await other promised features, like end-to-end encryption in **Facebook Messenger** group messages. Instead of blaming users for not actively seeking out privacy features, **Meta** and other tech companies should prioritize enabling strong privacy protections by default.