In the News
Instagram is not in a hurry to preserve your data privacy from third-parties. In Instagram will give you more control over your third-party apps…in about six months, Sarah Perez at TechCrunch discusses how Instagram will eventually release a feature that restricts the access that third-party apps have to your account data once you no longer use the third-parties. Perez explains that other social media platforms have been providing a similar feature for a while. Perez also details that once the rollout is complete, users will be able to enable this feature in their Instagram ‘Settings’.
Our Take
Granting third-party apps access to your account data has become an unavoidable cost of using social media platforms and online accounts. However, there does not seem to be a reason why your data should continue to be accessed by such companies if you are no longer getting the benefits of using the third-party app itself. Enough data privacy issues are circling the social media platform world, that a quickly addressed issue like this one should not take a half a year to roll-out. If Instagram’s competitors have been able to prioritize such a feature and bring it to market, Instagram should take the same steps to prioritize its user’s data and privacy.
Recommendations
How can you better protect your personal data when using social media platforms?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Use safe password practices when creating online accounts, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible
- Utilize additional security/privacy measures and settings on apps, accounts, and platforms whenever possible
- Limit the number of accounts that have access to your financial payment option
- Use privacy settings on your accounts when they are available
- Know your rights when it comes to data use and storage