British Virgin Islands-based online privacy firm ExpressVPN has flagged a 12.4% rise in new subscribers in just two days following Meta’s decision to no longer support end-to-end encryption for Instagram direct messaging.
Meta reportedly did not publicly announce its plans for the Instagram change. According to BBC.com, instead, it quietly updated the app’s terms and conditions in March.
“End‑to‑end encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May 2026, If you have chats affected by this change, you will see instructions on how to download any media or messages you may wish to keep,” it said. BBC.com also said that Meta had told reporters the decision was taken because too few users were opting in to use the feature.
ExpressVPN said it was seeing consumers become far more proactive about protecting their digital footprint, and spikes in demand like this reflected a broader shift in public awareness around online security and privacy.
The company said that end-to-end encryption was one of the most important privacy protections available to users online as it ensured conversations can only be read by the sender and recipient.
“When platforms scale back these protections, it naturally raises questions around who can access user communications, how data is stored, and what this means for personal privacy moving forward,” said ExpressVPN chief research officer Pete Membrey.
“It’s also worth remembering that one of the original reasons many messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, moved to end-to-end encryption was precisely to make sure that even the platform itself could not access the content of private communications,” ExpressVPN said.
“That design choice fundamentally limits how that data can be used or analysed at a content level. When those protections are reduced or removed, it changes what is technically possible in terms of how message content can be accessed, processed or used within the platform,” said Membrey.
The company said that platforms like Instagram were not merely social networks, classing them rather as key communication tools used daily by millions of people to share personal messages, coordinate with friends and family, and manage all kinds of aspects of their lives.
“As a result, changes to how private messaging is protected inevitably shape how safe and secure those everyday interactions feel,” said Membrey.
“There is a growing focus across the online safety landscape – particularly in relation to protecting children and addressing harmful content – which is driving important and necessary policy discussions, added Membrey. “
