In response to people demanding for a way to download their data and also to comply with the upcoming European Union’s GDPR privacy law which takes effect on May 25, Instagram has finally done what they were promising to do. They have confirmed that they now have a Data Download tool which you can access through the web version of the photo sharing app. The mobile version will be coming soon but for now, you can already start saving your photos, videos, and other information you may have stored over the past few years.
When you go to instagram.com on your browser and log in to your account, you can head on over to the profile section, and click on the gear next to your username and the Edit Profile button. Go to the Privacy and Security section and then under the Data Download section, you’ll see a Request Download link. You’ll enter the email where they will send the link once they are ready with all your data. They say it might take them 48 hours to collect everything and send it to you, so you’ll have to wait patiently.
The data that you will receive include profile information, photos, videos, archived Stories (but only those posted after December 2017), your post and story captions, uploaded contacts, usernames of your followers and people you follow, Direct Messages, photos and videos shared through DM (but non-ephemeral), comments, likes, searches, and settings. That’s basically almost your entire Instagram life right?
They did not specify when the tool will be available for Android mobile devices, but it will probably be better if you do it from your desktop anyway. Another Facebook company, WhatsApp, announced it will also be rolling out a Data Download tool for its next update. And in case you didn’t know it yet, you can do that with Facebook too.
VIA: Tech Crunch
