A brief look at the privacy pitfalls of Instagram.

1. TO GRAM OR NOT TO GRAM…
THAT IS THE QUESTION:
A BRIEF LOOK AT THE PRIVACY PITFALLS
OF INSTAGRAM.
Dunja Spasic (18749168)
NETS5003 Internet Politics & Power (October 2016)

2. Beautiful content, shared simply.
Instagram provides users with a simple and beautiful way of sharing content with the world. Established
in 2010, it may be considered a relatively new social networking site (SNS) and content sharing
platform, compared to Facebook and Twitter’s 2004 and 2006 respective debuts. Focused initially on
photo sharing, Instagram introduced video sharing in June 2013 by allowing you to record and share
15-second videos, further increasing its appeal to new and existing users.
Sounds good, right?

3. Only if you’re careful.
Did you know that, by default, your Instagram posts are public?
And if you’re posting pictures of your home, your family, holiday snaps and the like, you are essentially
exposing yourself to the world unless you check and update your privacy settings.
As Lai (2015) pointed out, imagine if someone figured out exactly where you live and that nobody
would be home for the next week. It’s like shouting ‘Look at me! I want to show you how lovely my
home is, and that I’m not there right now, so go right on in!’

4. But don’t I control what they see?
We interpret the freedom we feel from engaging in SNSs as having a sense of control over how
we present ourselves and our information to the world (Chun, 2006).
However, what we fail to take into account is the ever-changing landscape of privacy on these
sites. We adjust our privacy settings upon signing up and often become complacent, thinking that
our information is safe from prying eyes.

5. Managing your privacy settings is more
important than ever.
“A majority of social network site users – 58% – restrict access to their profiles … Half of SNS users
say they have some difficulty in managing privacy controls, but just 2% say it is “very difficult” to
use the controls. Those with the most education report the most trouble”…
and still “11% of SNS users have posted content they regret.” (Madden, 2012)

6. Having total control over our own information online is an
illusion.
Clever users often find [not so] clever ways to view profiles set as
‘private’ (with photos visible to followers only).

7. Using the side door.
Did you know that even private profiles can become visible? There are numerous sites that allow
anyone to access private Instagram profiles & photos.
◦ viewprivateprofiles.net/
◦ instaspy.net/
◦ privateinsta.com/
◦ watchinsta.com/
◦ … the list goes on.

8. Be careful what you gram.
The best solution is to be mindful of what you post to begin with.
This is especially relevant since SNSs have become increasingly interconnected i.e. Facebook acquired
Instagram, so users now have the ability to share their beautiful Instagram photos with their friends on
Facebook.
But TAKE HEED – if you post your photos and videos to other social media platforms like Twitter,
Facebook and Foursquare, they are subject to the privacy settings you have set there…

9. What happens
if I share my
post to another
social network?
“If someone with a private profile shares a photo or video to a social
network (like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and so on) using Instagram,
the image will be visible on that network and the permalink will be active.
In other words, the photo will be publicly accessible by anyone who has
access to its direct link/URL.”

10. Deleting your account won’t solve the
problem either.
“If we terminate your access to the Service or you… deactivate your account, your photos,
comments, likes, friendships, and all other data will no longer be accessible through your account
(e.g., users will not be able to navigate to your username and view your photos), but those
materials and data may persist and appear within the Service (e.g., if your Content has been
reshared by others) - Instagram, Terms of Use.

11. The onus is on you as the user.
“Instagram may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please review it
periodically. Your continued use of Instagram or the Service after any modification to this Privacy
Policy will constitute your acceptance of such modification.” – Instagram, Privacy Policy
Whilst they may indeed contact you if the changes to their policy are significant, most people
tend to ignore these notifications (I know I have) since they are worded in complex ways that
don’t communicate what the implications are of the update.

12. The onus is on you as the user.
You basically have to ensure that you familiarise yourself with the Privacy Policy, not only at the
sign-up stage, but also at regular intervals thereafter.
In this way you will know what you’re dealing with, rather than accepting these changes at face
value and therefore possible breaches to your privacy.
Alternatively, limit your presence entirely. It’s the only foolproof solution to social network
privacy.

13. References
◦ Chun, W. H. K. (2006). Control and freedom: Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber
Optics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
◦ Instagram (n.d.) Privacy Policy. Retrieved from https://help.instagram.com/155833707900388
◦ Instagram (n.d.) What happens if I share my post to another social network? Retrieved from
https://help.instagram.com/442837725762581
◦ Instagram (June 2013) Introducing Video on Instagram [blog]. Retrieved from
http://blog.instagram.com/post/53448889009/video-on-instagram
◦ Instagram (n.d.) Terms of Use. Retrieved from https://help.instagram.com/478745558852511/
◦ Madden, M. (2012). Privacy management on social media sites (PEW Research report). Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/02/24/privacy-management-on-social-media-sites/
◦ Lai, S. (2015, February 10). What you need to know about Instagram privacy settings (Blog post).
Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/privacy-blog/2015/02/what-you-need-to-know-about-
instagram-privacy-settings.html