Meta Provides Update on Safety Options in Messenger, Instagram DMs

Meta global head of safety Antigone Davis revealed in an op-ed in The Telegraph last month that end-to-end encryption across Messenger and Instagram DMs would be delayed until sometime in 2023, and she provided more color in a Newsroom post Wednesday. In her op-ed, Davis cited concerns from child safety advocates that the move to end-to-end encryption would help abusers avoid detection. She wrote Wednesday, “We want people to have a trusted private space that’s safe and secure, which is why we’re taking our time to thoughtfully build and implement end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default across Messenger and Instagram DMs. E2EE is designed to protect people’s private messages so that only the sender and recipient can access their messages. So, if you’re sharing photos or banking details with family and friends, encryption allows that sensitive information to be shared safely.” Davis continued, “And while most people use messaging services to connect with loved ones, a small minority use them to do tremendous harm. We have a responsibility to protect our users, and that means setting a clear, thorough approach to safety. We also need to help protect people from abuse without weakening the protections that come with encryption. People should have confidence in their privacy while feeling in control to avoid unwanted interactions and respond to abuse. Privacy and safety go hand-in-hand, and our goal is to provide people with the safest private messaging apps.” In the interim, Davis said Meta will use artificial intelligence to proactively detect accounts engaged in malicious patterns of behavior, with its machine learning technology scanning non-encrypted areas, such as account information and public photos, to detect suspicious activity. As previously reported, if an adult repeatedly creates new profiles and attempts to connect with minors via Messenger or Instagram DM, Meta will prevent them from doing so. Minors establishing new accounts will continue to be set to private or friends only by default. Younger users will also continue to see safety notices warning them of potential suspicious activity such as impersonation and scams. She reiterated the availability of the Hidden Words feature on Instagram, which lets people filter messages with emojis, phrases or words they do not wish to see into a Hidden Folder, and added that the ability to block unwanted contacts, already available in Messenger, is being extended to Instagram DMs. Davis concluded, “Preventing abuse on our apps requires constant iteration, so we regularly review our policies and features and listen to feedback from experts and people using our apps to stay ahead of people who may not have the best intentions. While building a trusted space requires ongoing innovation, flexibility and creativity, we believe that this approach of prevention, control and response offers a framework to get people the protection they need and deserve. Privacy and safety go hand-in-hand, and we’re committed to making sure they are integral to people’s messaging experiences.”

Chat & Messaging

Meta Provides Update on Safety Options in Messenger, Instagram DMs

The rollout of end-to-end encryption was postponed until sometime in 2023

David Cohen

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