Instagram

****Instagram**** is a free application that allows users to interact with one another through photo sharing. Facebook acquired it in 2012. Instagram allows its users to upload, edit, and share photos with others through the Instagram website, email, and other social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. Recently, Instagram has introduced the new feature of "stories". Stories allow users to share their current activity for 24 hours, to allow users to share all the moments of their days, not just snap shots.

## What personal data does Instagram analyze and collect?

Instagram users subject themselves to many different forms of personal data features. For example, depending on what pictures you like, you could subject yourself to different types of ads. Instagram also allows users to show the location of where the photo was taken which can also be used as a type of personal data that a third party company can collect and analyze. Users subject a lot of information whenever they post something on Instagram. You can collect Instagram data using hashtags, location, comments, and people who like your post.

## How is a user's personal data used by Instagram?

Instagram promises that user's will have complete control over who can see your content and where it is stated, but because of it's recent collaboration with Facebook, user information will be more easily shared. In it's current Privacy Policy, Instagram states,

“*We may share User Content and your information (including but not limited to, information from cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data, and usage data) with businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that Instagram is part of, or that become part of that group (“Affiliates”). Affiliates may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service (including by*
providing analytics) and Affiliates’ own services (including by providing you with better and more relevant experiences). But these Affiliates will honor the choices you make about who can see your photos.”

Basically, what this means is now, instead of your personal data being in one spot (Instagram) people can see your information from the site, anywhere and everywhere across infinitely many different sites.

## How can Instagram users protect their privacy?

There are a few steps users can take in order to protect their privacy:

First, you should set your account to private. What this does is allow you to approve who wants to follow your account and see your photos as well as protect the rights to your actual photos.

Second, you should always back up your photos. Should your account get hacked or for whatever reason you need to delete your Instagram account, your photos will be saved and the publication of your personal photos will remain credible (just in case someone steals your photos and tries to sell them).

Third, you should mask your personal information by ensuring that your user name does not include your first name, last name, hometown, or birth year. All of these can give away your personal information quite easily and can be misused in the hands of hackers.

Finally, be sure that the pictures you are uploading do not contain personal information that you do not want people seeing. For example, a shirt with the name of your high school on it. This could allow people to find out where you live and could potentially put you at risk.

## References

1. ↑ Rouse, M., & McLaughlin, E. (2012, December). *Instagram* [Fact sheet]. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from WhatIs website: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Instagram
2. ↑ Instagram. (2016, August 2). Introducing Instagram Stories. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Instagram website: http://blog.instagram.com/post/148348940287/160802-stories x
3. ↑ Bechmann, A., & Vahlstrup, P. B. (2015, April 24). Studying Facebook and Instagram data: The Digital Footprints software. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from First Monday website:      http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5968/5166
4. ↑ Data Source: Instagram. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Netlytic website: https://netlytic.org/home/?page\_id=254
5. ↑ Instagram. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Instagram website: https://www.instagram.com/
6. ↑ Crook, J. (2012, December 17). Instagram Will Share User Data With Facebook According To Its New Privacy Policy. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Tech Crunch website: https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/17/instagram-will-share-users-data-with-facebook-according-to-its-new-privacy-policy/
7. ↑ Covert, A. (2012, December 19). How to protect your Instagram photos. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from CNN tech website: http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/19/technology/social/instagram-photos-privacy/
8. ↑ Smith, E. (n.d.). How to Protect Yourself on Instagram. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Chron website: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/protect-yourself-instagram-78869.html