Every day millions, if not billions of people all over the world, use Instagram as a platform to share beautiful photos and videos. Instagram has been used to upload picture perfect photographs to family, friends, and the rest of the world. These uploads vary from personal to business, travel or hobby, pets, to almost anything that you want to share with the world.
With so many users, worries over the risks of privacy and security become an issue.
What is Instagram’s Privacy Policy?
In simpler terms, the Instagram Private Policy deals on how this platform keeps your account safe and public. In 2019, there was a fake policy that raised worries among Instagram users which mentioned that Instagram will be able to share information or pictures without the user’s consent.
The fake news began to spread like wildfire, which stated that the content you post, even private or deleted, could be used in legal or court cases against you if there is a need for it in the future. Instagram spoke and cleared that there is no truth in the news.
How does Instagram use its user’s data?
If you are new to Instagram, it will ask you to create an account using your email address or phone number and create a password for the account. It will ask for your personal information like gender, age, and location. This information will help you access your profile.
Upon creating your profile, you may need to personalize your profile based on genres that you prefer or who to follow. You may be a sports enthusiast or a traveler and would want to follow profiles of famous personalities with the same genres.
It is important to understand that Instagram’s policy regarding your personal information is private and must be kept confidential. It will not sell or disclose any of your information to third parties without your consent.
Instagram will only share information that you agreed to share publicly. There are options to certain information that you can share publicly, like your location, complete personal information, email address, and so on.
What is the important information that Instagram requires from its users?
This platform requires important information from its registered users:
- Personal Information (name, age, gender, and location).
- Username and password.
- Related data or links to photos uploaded, tagged, or liked.
- History of messages, contacts, address book.
- Data in the devices associated with the account.
- Location
Like many other social media platforms, Instagram uses this information to build a cache of your data to customize the ads that appear on your profile. It allows advertisements based on your location, preferences, usage patterns, and more.
Instagram also makes use of facial recognition to recognize you when you appear in a photo.
It is important to understand that Instagram relies on the information that you are providing for whatever data it would feed you to shape your ad feed.
How do I make my account private?
Keeping your account private is easy. Instagram will give two options when you are creating your personal account. It will let you choose private and public. Keeping your account private means that anyone on Instagram can see your uploads and make comments about it. You can also keep a public account and disable the comment section if you do not want any comments on your account.
To keep your account private, just choose “private”. Only your followers can see your posts or uploaded pictures. Those who want to follow you can send a follow request, and it is up to you if you want to accept it not. You can interact through direct messages with those you follow and those who follow you.
Why is it important for users to understand Instagram Privacy Policy?
Generally, most of us just click on “I agree” without really reading the privacy policy. Well, it is important to know that what you are agreeing on are the terms in which how your account is going to be protected and kept safe.
As social media users, we enjoy sharing what is happening around us to our relatives and friends or basically to the world. But one thing that we need to take into consideration is also the safety of our account. The worldwide web is a vast space where anything can happen. Millions have access to the internet, but it is important to make sure that only you have access to your account.
If you click on “I agree” on Instagram Privacy and Policy before creating an account, it means that you are agreeing to Instagram. This also includes complying with the federal law when it comes to the government’s process of getting data. Instagram will only disclose account information and records with valid government documents such as search warrants, court orders, and subpoenas.
As responsible social media users, it is important to take into consideration the safety of our accounts. How we share it and to whom we share it matters as these platforms use our data. So the next time you click on “I Agree”, remember that you agree on your account’s safety.
