Digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently harshly criticized Meta, accusing it of terminating the optional end-to-end encrypted chat feature on Instagram and blaming users for the feature's "low usage," when the real problem lies in product design and default settings. Meta previously announced that it would be removing this optional encrypted chat on Instagram after so few people enabled the feature. EFF pointed out that this result is not unexpected, because to turn on this feature, users need to complete up to four complex steps in the application, rather than using it in a simple and intuitive way.
EFF emphasized in its statement that "default options" are crucial in privacy protection, and believed that Meta's shift of responsibility to users just proves this point. Meta now recommends that users who need secure communication turn to its WhatsApp, but in the EFF's view, the platform should provide strong privacy protection by default in places where users already gather, rather than requiring users to migrate tools themselves. The EFF believes that messaging features in WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram should all offer strong end-to-end encryption by default, rather than making it an optional option hidden in multi-level menus.
In its public comments, the EFF said it was "frustrating" for Meta to abandon this principle, especially in the context that other previously promised privacy features by the company, such as end-to-end encryption in Facebook Messenger group chats, have yet to materialize. EFF criticized that instead of blaming users for "not using these features" after their promises failed, technology companies should enable strong privacy protection by default from the beginning, rather than turning privacy protection into an "advanced option" that users have to find and configure themselves.
It is unclear whether Meta has encountered insurmountable technical obstacles or whether it is unwilling to conflict with governments over encryption issues. In recent years, many jurisdictions have strengthened supervision of social media and adult websites on the grounds of "child safety" and "social platform supervision", and have required access to users' private communications. This has also put end-to-end encryption under long-term regulatory pressure.
In defense of Meta, the report pointed out that the company has a very poor history on privacy. Even though it claims to provide end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp and Messenger, there are still a large number of users who have doubts about whether its encryption is "truly trustworthy." In this context, Instagram no longer claims that it provides encrypted messages, but instead makes some users feel that "at least they know they are using an unencrypted service", thereby becoming more aware of the privacy risks they will be exposed to when sending messages.