If you’ve ever shared access to your Instagram to a 3rd party, you’ve probably forgotten about it by now. There are some apps and websites that will ask you to “Import photos from Instagram” or to “connect/link to Instagram”. While they’re not all bad and some of them are actually needed, you can never be too sure in the long run. Instagram will finally start rolling out more controls so you can better monitor and if need be, revoke permissions you’ve previously granted to third party apps.
In case you’ve already forgotten which apps and websites you’ve granted access to, you can find them all in your Settings > Security > Apps and Websites. All of the 3rd party services you’ve used in the past with your Instagram account will be listed there. You now have the option to remove those that you don’t need anymore. Just keep in mind that once you remove them from the list, they will no longer be able to have access to new data but they will still be able to see previous data.
Instagram is also introducing an updated authorization screen where all the information the third party is requesting to access will be found. I know not everyone reads these things but in this age where there are a lot of data breaches and other security issues, it is important to be aware of what information you’re allowing others to access on your account. So you have the option to cancel or authorize when you come across this screen.
The ideal situation would be that you will not grant access to any third parties, but sometimes you have to connect Instagram to your website or blog or you want a printing service to have access to your photos for the album you want them to create. So the next best thing would be to have more control over the settings and that is what Instagram is bringing now.
The updates will be rolling out over the next six months but a lot of users are already seeing the changes in their accounts. Update to the latest version or just wait for it to arrive to your Instagram.
