Some Messenger and Instagram features are temporarily unavailable to users in Europe to comply with new data usage rules currently being introduced in EU countries.
/article-new/2020/12/instagram-features-missing-eu.jpeg?resize=560%2C359&ssl=1)
Affected users are seeing warnings in Facebook’s apps that some features are not available to “respect the new messaging rules in Europe”.
The warning does not indicate what the missing features are, however The edge notes that polls on both Messenger and Instagram are currently disabled in Europe, while stickers on Instagram are not available, as are personalized replies in Messenger. Each support page for the above features currently includes the notification:
This feature may not be available if you are located in Europe or messaging a European-based account to respect the new messaging rules. We are working to bring it back.
The temporary changes are said to be Facebook’s compliance with national implementations of the 2002 Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (ePrivacy Directive), which imposes stricter rules on data use through communications services operating in countries that are part of the EU.
Other missing features include disabling sending of files on Messenger, missing nicknames, and the ability to share AR effects in DMs on Instagram.
Users in the UK are also missing the features, as EU law will continue to apply to the UK during the Brexit transition period (which currently runs until December 31, 2020).
Facebook hasn’t given a specific timeframe for restoring the missing features, but has told The edge they would return “very soon.”