Kris VandermottenMar 14
evacide
In this golden age of surveillance, making E2EE chat normal and expected has been privacy's biggest win. I hate to see it getting rolled back. https://thehackernews.com/2026/03/meta-to-shut-down-instagram-end-to-end.html
Meta to Shut Down Instagram End-to-End Encrypted Chat Support Starting May 2026

Meta will end Instagram E2EE chats May 8, 2026, reversing a 2021 privacy test and reigniting debate over encrypted messaging oversight.

The Hacker News
Mar 13 at 6:54pmWeb
Show threadKaifiMar 13
@evacide it's mark we're talking about. who are we kidding.
Show threadJohn QMar 13
@evacide WUT they added E2E in _Instagram_?! Like ... why?
Show threadDaniel Fisher(lennybacon)Mar 13
@evacide https://lgbtqia.space/@m/116222680806173310 Meta doing Meta things
✨ Mia’s Simulacrum 🏳️‍⚧️✨ (@[email protected])

Reddit seems to have deleted a post with 7400 upvotes and the title: "I traced $2B in grants and 45 states' lobbying behind age‑verification bills" .... US Corpos do not want us to see this but luckily we still have this github repo. Here the relevant reddit post that was removed: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1rshc1f/i_traced_2_billion_in_nonprofit_grants_and_45/?sort=new And here the github repo https://github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings #reddit #ageVerification #corpos #cencorship

LGBTQIA.Space
Show threadGustavoMar 13
@evacide The thing is: WhatsApp can be the next in line and people will not migrate from it if it happens.
Show threadFeyterMar 13

@qgustavor @evacide we will see.

I could imagine an EU intervention when Meta removes encrytion from WhatsApp.

Show threadSarMar 13

@feyter @qgustavor @evacide

I wouldn't bet on it. Heard of Chat Control? The EU are walking roughshod over their own history of privacy protections along with seemingly every government on earth in a desperate bid to read everyone's private information.

Apart from theirs, because *of course* they've made themselves exempt from all the rules they want to impose on others...

Show threadChucklesMar 14
@sar @feyter @qgustavor @evacide EU politicians are tripping over themselves trying to get those bribes from billionaires (aka "lobbying"). Their talk of "sovereignty" is simply a "for sale" sign. And that means *you*, @EUCommission
Show threadAlessandro LaiMar 14
@qgustavor @evacide two days ago they sent me a generic message there reminding me that E2EE was there and protecting me, so they know that's a lot more "core" to that product...
Show threadGustavoMar 14
@alessandrolai @evacide It was its main feature before Meta bought it
Show threadF4GRX SébastienMar 13
@evacide thats amazing in a bad way. Wow. Shutting down E2EE as a feature.
Show threadF4GRX SébastienMar 13
@evacide whatsap is probably next.
Show threadChristine JasmineMar 13
@evacide not surprised... 😥
Show threadFeyterMar 13
@evacide meta definitely want that dicpics for AI training data 🤗
Show threadStephanMar 13

@evacide

E2EE wasn't turned on by default in Instagram. The real reason they removed it — Meta doesn't earn benefits in privacy marketing

Show threadIvan RalchevMar 13
@evacide Was it ever E2EE, I wonder. They just got tired pretending.
Show threadTad FisherMar 13

@evacide almost as if E2EE is not really useful with closed clients and closed servers controlled by the same central entity

it was always one feature flag away from being turned off with no one knowing anyway

Show threadohirMar 13
@evacide
Encryption is moot on devices where "ai" costantly reads your screen, listens to you, and soon will constantly watch your face as you read.
Show threadstevenrayMar 13

@evacide it’s disgusting, but Meta shouldn’t be anyone’s choice for privacy-respecting solutions.

Perhaps in some future administration, the Feds will shock everyone by prioritizing citizen privacy over business profits and require E2EE.

Show threadCharlie StrossMar 13
@evacide @encthenet Meta is apparently the corporation behind all the international lobbying for laws mandating age verification in operating systems and web browsers. Ditching E2EE in their own product is a no-brainer in this context.
Show threadSarMar 13

@cstross @evacide @encthenet

Was just about to say this. Meta are leading the charge for age verification because they're getting hammered for $58b in COPPA fines, so they're looking to shift the point of responsibility onto anyone else.

Show threadmancubeMar 13
@sar @cstross @evacide @encthenet strikes me similarly; they're trying to show that they're doing something to "protect children" in the face of all the scrutiny they're under about the real harms they don't want to stop perpetuating
Show threadMark KoekMar 14
@mancube @sar @cstross @evacide @encthenet you’ve got to wonder why they don’t simply spend that money on some tough moderation instead; just let go of that childish free speech absolutism and fix the poison on those damn platforms
Show threadmancubeMar 16
@mkoek @sar @cstross @evacide @encthenet could also be about creating backlash against efforts to regulate tech and safety in general too; see if they can get tech libertarianism fired up enough, keep tangentially related nonsense in the news and turn the topic toxic once people get tired of hearing about it. they can also shape opinion by forcing bad solutions on people legislatively
Show threadgalacticnomadMar 13
@evacide Woah why did that happen? Wasn't their whole spiel that WhatsApp, Instagram and FB Messenger share the same encrypted backend? I hate that we are barraging head first into an age of private and government surveillance. I miss the days of everyone wants to be like Signal and use their protocol !!!
Show threadchiMar 13
@evacide it's not like it was actually working on Instagram, amirite
Show threadPrivacyMattersMar 13
@evacide I wouldn’t trust anything Meta related anyway. Maybe Messenger and WhatsApp are up next on the chopping block?
Show threadTheNovemberFella ✊🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦☸️🛰️🚀Mar 13
@evacide One more reason to walk away from Meta 🙄
Show threadShnoofleBear /ʃnuːfɛlbɛːr/Mar 14
@evacide Whoever is using Meta stuff at this point hasn't been paying attention.
Show threadGhostOnTheHalfShellMar 14

@evacide

If that company’s products lose and an encryption, my hope is that people who care leave the platforms for safer alternatives and buy that I mean non-commercial alternatives

Show threadVincent SparksMar 14

@evacide Moxie Marlinspike, whom I respect less by the day: "No, you see, federated messengers in general can't work. They ossify too quickly and get left in the dust security wise. Thomas Hobbes had it right. A single legal entity must be in control of every aspect of the application. Look at Whatsapp. They rolled out e2ee for all their users with the push of a button."

I would like to thank Meta for reminding these credulous people that anything that can be done with a push of button, can be undone with the push of a button, and with just as much justification.

Show threadEric LawtonMar 14

@evacide

To add insult to injury, the Ontario Provincial government is introducing legislation to weaken Freedom of Information laws, to protect public officials' privacy.

@Gigi

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ford-changing-foi-rules-9.7127884

Ontario wants to change its FOI rules to keep some records secret. Here's what you need to know | CBC News

Ontario wants to exempt the premier, cabinet ministers and parliamentary assistants from being subject to the province’s freedom-of-information (FOI) rules, a move that’s sparked outrage from experts, opposition parties, and the province’s privacy commissioner.

CBC
Show threadGigi 🍄‍🟫Mar 14

@EricLawton @evacide

Yep.

It seemed like a good distraction from THAT.

Show threadJuanjo SalvadorMar 14
@evacide "they can do it on whatsapp", well what about no.

Matrix should finishing fixing their bugs and usability problems, it's a really good chance to finally got more users.
Show threadKierkethumbs up convincinglyMar 16
@evacide with meta it’s probably a safeguard against legislation regarding liability for grooming