Mark Zuckerberg warns against screenshotting Facebook Messenger chats

When Zuckerberg revealed that end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats would now alert users if someone screenshots a disappearing message, it sounded like a win for privacy. His own demo with wife Priscilla Chan framed it as protection, not punishment. Paired with GIFs, stickers, and reactions in encrypted threads, Meta pitched the update as making secure conversations feel as rich as regular chats, while keeping fleeting messages truly fleeting.But the internet responded with a knowing smirk. Within hours, commenters listed ways to dodge the system: using a second phone to photograph the screen, turning off data before grabbing a screenshot, or using screen recorders that might slip through detection. Critics argued the feature offers more illusion of safety than real security, and some questioned Meta’s priorities altogether, asking why so much brilliance is poured into policing pixels instead of fixing the world beyond the screen.