The Conversation (0)
Science & Tech
Greg Evans
Apr 27, 2018
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Getty Images/iStock
Instagram is great for a lot of things, such as finding funny pictures of cats and scrolling through all the filters until deciding that 'normal' was actually the best.
However, it is not ideal for downloading your own photos and data. In fact, it's near impossible, unless you know some sort of digital shortcut.
Thankfully, that is all about to change courtesy of a new privacy law in Europe, which will allow users to download all of their data, including all your photos, at once.
That might be a lot of information for some people, but is probably a lot easier and quicker than trying to save them one by one.
The law is thanks to the new GDPR privacy law which will force tech companies to be more transparent about the personal data they have collected from users and lord knows that we need more of that right now.
The download feature will be made available to iPhone and Android users in future app updates. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has complied with this ruling well ahead of the 25 May deadline.
However, the process isn't as straightforward as hitting a button then the data will arrive in your files.
After making the request, Instagram will send a link to your email inbox. This link will then allow you to download everything, but it will take 48 hours for that link to be sent to you.
In addition to your photos and personal data, Instagram will also send you all of your stories, likes, searches (that could be awkward), DMs (that haven't been deleted), your username, followers and all the people you follow.
What you choose to do with that is completely up to you, but it's nice to know that these big social media firms are actually being a bit more honest now.
More: Model's side-by-side photos show the difference between Instagram and real life