EFF Raises New Questions About Instagram's Privacy Policy

Instagram rolled back proposed changes to parts of its terms of service that relate to advertising yesterday, but left in place changes to its privacy policies which attorneys at the Electronic Frontier Foundation call troublesome.

Instagram rolled back proposed changes to parts of its terms of service that relate to advertising yesterday, but left in place changes to its privacy policies which attorneys at the Electronic Frontier Foundation call troublesome.

“While we appreciate Instagrams responsiveness to user concerns and its improvements, the new privacy policy is short on clear privacy protections,” wrote senior staff attorney Kurt Opsahl and activism director Rainey Reitman on the organization’s blog.

The new policy never “directly promises that private photos will remain private. Instead, your privacy on Instagram is subject to future changes in the privacy settings options,” EFF concluded after a close read of the modified language.

Instagram has moved away from clear, legally binding language about what it will not do. By saying simply that privacy settings control who can view a user’s photos, the company leaves open the possibility that it will change settings in ways that could open up previously private content for public viewing.

Image: Dirk Ercken / Shutterstock.com