Instagram now allows you to download your content
Instagram has started rolling out its data portability tool using which you can download a copy of everything you've shared on the photo-sharing app. This includes photos, videos, archived Stories (posted after December 2017), profile info, comments, captions, followers and people you follow, Direct Messages, Likes, searches, and settings. The data download feature might take up to 48 hours to export all your content.
An Instagram spokesperson said, "The Data Download tool is currently accessible to everyone on the web, but access via iOS and Android is still rolling out." Instagram is launching the much-required data portability tool eight years after the app's launch. In comparison, Facebook announced its Download Your Information tool in 2010, six years after the company's launch.
This comes as parent company Facebook looks to comply with the upcoming European data privacy law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It requires companies to compulsorily offer data portability and delete data upon user request. GDPR will come into effect on May 25.
WhatsApp will roll out its own data portability tool in the app's next update. Under it, users will reportedly be able to download account info, profile photo, and group names, but not messages which already have the capability to be exported and backed up. As part of GDPR compliance, WhatsApp will also increase its minimum user age from 13 to 16 (only) in Europe.
