If you're the kind of person who is very concerned about your online security, you can celebrate! Instagram, the social network of the moment, has just introduced end-to-end encryption for messages sent by DM, promising greater care with the content exchanged by its users.
But since this option isn't enabled automatically, we've decided to explain in this article everything you need to know to activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram! Do you want to understand everything about this new feature of the social network? Follow us to stay well-informed!
What is end-to-end encryption anyway?
End-to-end encryption is an Instagram feature that prevents your conversation from being intercepted by third parties. After activating end-to-end encryption, only the sender and recipient of a conversation will have access to its content, thus guaranteeing greater privacy and security.
To illustrate, imagine you're talking to someone and you don't want the subject of the conversation to fall into someone else's hands. If encryption is active, if someone tries to break into your network and read your conversation they won't be able to, while if the feature is not active, the chances of an attacker being able to read it are very high. However, this feature needs to be activated manually and not all chats can be protected by it.
The importance of encryption for security
So, as soon as you activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram, your conversations will be protected from snoopers. This is important because, if you have passed on your personal details to someone via message, it prevents third parties from gaining access to them and using your information for improper purposes. With encryption enabled, only you and the recipient of the message will have access to its content.
How to Enable End-to-End Encryption on Instagram!
It is important to note that there is no way to enable end-to-end encryption on Instagram for all chats and this will need to be done manually for only a few. Business accounts won't be able to have this feature enabled either, as partner companies need to check messages for advertising purposes. However, if your account is a personal account, the step-by-step process for activating end-to-end encryption is quite simple.
First of all, you'll need to open your Instagram DMs by tapping on the icon in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Once you've done that, look for the chat with the person you want to activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram. If the profile in question appears in the list, you can use the magnifying glass to search for the contact and start a new chat with them.
Once you have completed this step and the chat is open, you will click on the username of the person you are chatting with. This is located at the top, left-hand corner of the screen. By clicking on it, the chat configuration options will open and you will select the "Privacy and Security" option. Another screen will open showing new configuration options, one of which will be to activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram.
Select the "use end-to-end encryption" option and, once you've done all that, just start the conversation and that's it. All messages from then on will be protected by the feature and you'll no longer have anything to worry about. At least as far as that conversation is concerned. To activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram in other chats, you'll need to go through this process again individually.
Conclusion
It's worth noting, however, that end-to-end encryption doesn't make your conversations "secret" on Instagram. They will still appear to you and your recipient in the social network interface.
If you want a conversation of this kind, the closest feature Instagram offers is "Temporary mode" which deletes all the messages exchanged in the chat when the participants leave your screen. To activate it, simply drag the screen upwards when you are in the conversation in question.
But what about you? Were we able to help you understand how to activate end-to-end encryption on Instagram? Let us know in the comments! Also check out what to do if your Instagram account is hacked!!
Questions that might interest you:
What are the steps to disable end-to-end encryption on Instagram?
You only need to delete the chat in which you had activated encryption to deactivate the feature in that conversation.
What does end-to-end encryption mean in the context of Instagram?
This means that the conversation in which it is active will be safe from interception by third parties.
Is it possible to delete encrypted messages on Instagram? How to do it?
Yes, just hold down the message in question and, when the options window appears, select "delete message".
