Srinagar, May 10 (JKNS): Jammu and Kashmir Police has issued an advisory urging social media users to remain cautious while sharing personal or sensitive information on Instagram, following changes in the platform’s Direct Message (DM) privacy settings.
In a post on X, as per news agency JKNS, J&K Police said that many users consider Instagram DMs to be completely private, but warned that from May 8, 2026, Instagram would no longer support End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) for direct messages.
“Messages shared on Instagram DMs may no longer remain encrypted and protected the way they previously were,” the police said.
According to the advisory, Meta has introduced the change to strengthen online safety measures and improve detection of harmful or illegal content, enabling law enforcement agencies to take action whenever required.
J&K Police, however, stressed that users must remain aware about digital privacy and responsible data sharing practices while using social media platforms.
The police advised people not to share passwords, OTPs, bank details, personal documents or sensitive photographs through Instagram DMs. Users were also asked to use encrypted platforms for confidential and sensitive conversations.
The advisory further urged users to keep backups of important chats or media files and reminded people that content deleted from the internet may not always be permanently erased.
The social media awareness message was shared as part of J&K Police’s ongoing public cyber awareness outreach under the ongoing Nasha Mukt Jammu Kashmir Abhiyan and the UT-wide 100-day campaign. (JKNS)
