A new tool will be added to Instagram that will address their issues on data portability.
With Facebook’s move in 2010 to allow users to download their entire data, Instagram finally promises to follow suit.
The popular photo sharing app announced that it is going to build a tool for users to download their content and take it elsewhere. An Instagram spokesperson explains to TechCrunch their plans.
“We are building a new data portability tool. You’ll soon be able to download a copy of what you’ve shared on Instagram, including your photos, videos and messages.”
“We’ll share more details very soon when we actually launch the tool. But at a high level it allows you to download and export what you have shared on Instagram,” they add.
The photo sharing app recently received backlash for their lack of data portability. This issue has been recently highlighted with Facebook’s privacy scandal in the last couple of months.
Data portability, or the capacity to “transfer personal from one electronic processing system to and into another without being prevented from doing so by the data controller” is one of the requirements of EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law. This law takes effect on May 25th, 2018.
Currently, there is no way for you to download or save your own images after it has been posted. If you have no copy or has deleted the original image, your only choice is to screenshot and crop it. Obviously, this doesn’t work with uploaded videos.
Instagram did not specify when the service will be available or whether it will include other data such as comments or stories. We will keep you guys updated.
