Drew's 5th Blog Post

Instagram's Terms of Use 

For this project I decided to look into Instagram's Terms of Use page. I chose Instagram because it is the one I interact with the most and it is the one I post stuff to most often. I figured that if I'm gonna be posting a lot on here, I should probably know what they do with my data and images. 

Initial thoughts:

     The first thing I noticed when I started this project was how difficult it was to find the ‘Terms of Use’ on the Instagram app. While I’ll admit that it took no time at all to type in “Instagram terms of service” and find it, I do not use Instagram on my computer. That is why I choose to first read the terms on my phone, and then switch over to the computer.

    

    Once I was on the ‘Terms of Use’ page, I noticed that it was a little difficult for me to read, due to an odd formatting. The words were oddly spaced, which messed up the normal flow of reading that I have. I am not sure if this is because of the way it looks on a phone, or if this was intentional.

Another thing I noticed was how the ‘Terms of Use’ was broken up into separate pages. There was a separate Data Policy page, Community Guidelines page, as well as other pages about online abuse, eating disorders, and reporting misconduct. There are several times where the ‘Terms of Use’ mentions something that is included on another page, and instead of quoting it, it would link to the other page, causing me to have to look deeper into some policies.

Here is an example of the weird word spacing. 

Overall:

     As a whole, the ‘Terms of Use’ surprised me. I had always expected a terms of use or service page to be really dense and long, using complicated language, but the Instagram ‘Terms of Use’ page was a fairly short and easy read. Now this of course does not include the pages that the terms links to, which would add to its length, but even those pages felt like easy reads. Most of the terms were pretty straightforward too. Most of the opening outlined the platforms goals, offerings, and mission. It explains how Instagram is a part of the Facebook group, and how both platforms work with each other.

     The next section briefly mentions the Data Policy page, which I will get to later.

     One of the few surprises I had when reading this was the rules (or lack thereof) regarding making an Instagram profile. The only restrictions to making a page are:

• You must be at least 13 years old.
• You must not be prohibited from receiving any aspect of our Service under applicable laws or engaging in payments related Services if you are on an applicable denied party listing.
• We must not have previously disabled your account for violation of law or any of our policies.
• You must not be a convicted sex offender.

     While these rules make sense, I just always assumed that there would be more restrictions, then again, the company profits off of more people using the platform, so the more the merrier.

     The Terms of Use also outlines what privileges the user gives Instagram in the “Permissions you Give Us” section. In this section, the terms show specifically what we as Instagram users permit Instagram to have. What was interesting about this section is how the wording Instagram uses to communicate the difference between ‘ownership’ and ‘license to use.’ Essentially, as an Instagram user, everything I post is mine, and I claim ownership to it. But, Instagram has the right to use it for whatever purpose they choose. This is a little unsettling, but I know that whatever I post on Instagram is public anyways so I just need to be careful with what I post.

     Another aspect of the “Permissions you give us” section that I found interesting was the fact that Instagram has the permission to use my information. It states that Instagram has the “Permission to use your username, profile, picture, and information about your relationships and actions with accounts, ads, and sponsored content.” Basically, Instagram can track my account with relation to other accounts and companies, and then use that information for whatever they choose. Most of this is used to create targeted and personalized advertising.

     

     As I said, overall, the ‘Terms of Use’ page was rather underwhelming. It felt pretty standard for a social media platform and nothing really stood out or caught me off guard. But, after I finished with the ‘Terms of Use’ page I clicked on the Data Policy page and that is where the most interesting stuff was hidden.

Data Policy:

     The Data Policy page was a little harder to read than the Terms of Use page. It felt like each section was overly wordy so the reader would get too caught up in the language to fully read or understand what was being said. After all of the news that came out a few years ago with Facebook’s mistreatment of users data, I was curious if anything had changed, or if Facebook still had the liberty of taking users data at any time.

     On the page it list the different way and reasons why Instagram can collect user’s data, and what data Instagram collects. It was a fairly long list, but there were certain parts that stood out and surprised me. The first section was the fact that Instagram can access your contacts and collect the information in your contact list. It says specifically:

“We collect contact information if you choose to upload, sync, or import it from a device (such as an address book or call log, or SMS log history), which we use for things like helping you and other people find people you may know”

     This is a little unsettling because your information can be given to Instagram without you even knowing. If someone you know has your information in their contacts and then they sync to Instagram, then they have YOUR information.

    The next and possibly one of the most surprising things I read was about collecting information on for transactions and donations. In this section, the data policy says:

Collect information about transactions and donations; “this includes payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information; other account and authentication information; and billing, shipping, and contact details.”

So if you every buy something through Instagram, then they can collect all of your personal information regarding money and your address. This is concerning to me in case Instagram has a data breech like other major companies have experienced. It is very unsettling to know that Instagram might have all of my credit card information right now.

     Instagram also has the ability to track where you are at any time. Fortunately, you must turn on your GPS location in order for them to track you. It says:

Device data: “information you allow us to receive through device settings you turn on, such as access to your GPS, location, camera or photos.”

I always keep my location services turned off, but every time my phone resets, or I have to re-install the app the GPS gets turned back on. This makes me wonder how many people check to see if their location services are on. It feels weird for a social media site to know where I am during all hours of the day.

     The final thing I found surprising on the Data Policy page was actually what I was looking for the whole time. I remembered during the Facebook data controversy I learned about how Facebook could sell users information to third-party companies without the user ever knowing. I was curious if this had changed at all. Much to my dismay, it has not changed much, but at least they mention that they can give your data away so that you know it when you sign up. In the Data policy it list all of the ways they can give out user’s data. They can provide any information collected with apps, websites, third-party integrations and third-party partners which consist of: Analytic services, advertisers, measurement partners, partners offering goods/services on Instagram, Vendors/service providers, researchers/ academics, and law enforcement/ legal request.

     It feels weird that Instagram has potentially giving my data to all of these types of companies and organizations, but there is nothing I can really do about it. I love using Instagram, and even after reading this I will still continue to use it. I feel the same way about all of my social media sites. I always try and be careful about what I post and what I say online. I have just accepted the fact that these social media companies have a lot of data about me, and I’m not very bothered by it.

     This was the first time that I sat down and actually read through a “terms of use” page. I normally do not read them because I never thought they were very important. I was also in a rush to create my account, so in the sign-up process, when the tab pops up that ask if I have read the terms and conditions, I just hit the “yes” box and keep going. I also notice sometimes that I’ll get a notification saying that an app has updated their terms of service, but I never check to see what has been updated. Maybe now I will start paying a little more attention to these terms, but I do not think my habits will change much.