In the News
In Instagram now lets you instantly repost stories you’re mentioned in to your own story, Dani Deahl discusses a new Instagram feature that will allow one to repost a story that they are tagged in by receiving a notification of being tagged. Deahl explains that by tagging another individual in your story (if you have a public account), they will receive a notification asking if they want to repost said story on their own account. By reposting a story, the original user’s profile will be accessible through the reposted story.
Our Take
Features such as Instagram reposting provide an easier way to share memories and moments with friends on your account. However, it is important to understand the privacy risks of such reposting features. Tagging yourself in a story on your own account is an action that you control; however, if a friend reposts the story, all of their friends and (depending on their privacy settings) all users searching for your account may be able to view the story. This means that you are no longer the sole determiner of which of your actions and locations are accessible by which people; you must trust your friends to make some of these decisions as well.
Recommendations
So how can you protect your privacy?
- Consider the implications of what you share online
- Understand the role you play in the privacy of others–and the role they play in yours
- Enable privacy features on your account if you do not wish for you account to be public