Instagram ‘Data Download’ is a New Tool to Export your Instagram Data

Instagram has now a new tool, called ”Data Download”, which allows its users to download the data they have uploaded to the platform. Whether we are talking about photos, videos, stories, direct messages, the list of people they follow or the ones that are following them, comments, likes, searches, and settings. Personal information as well.
 

Why is Instagram doing this?

In order to comply with the new GDPR rules that will be implemented in Europe on May 25, they have introduced the new Instagram Data Download tool.
This change came 8 years after the launch of the platform, way later than Facebook did it (it took 6 years for them to allow users to download their personal information from the platform).
 

How do you do this?

At the moment, you can download your Instagram data from the web following this link or by accessing the settings. For the mobile versions of the app, on both iOS and Android, the feature is rolling out at the moment, but the process is a continuous one. Depending on the amount of data that you have uploaded to the platform, the process can take minutes, hours or even days.

 

Is this a threat to Instagram?

It is already known that Instagram is the go-to platform when it comes to photo sharing. During the time, they had no shame in copying features that other social networks have offered – see the Stories format that Snapchat has brought to life. There are also other features they have taken from other social networks that, in the end, had to shut down. So basically, we can say they Instagram had and still has the monopoly within this area.
With all the data trapped inside the app, users had to use third-party apps that allowed them to download their Instagram data. This could be a threat to their personal information and the way those apps were using it.

So now that Instagram allows users to download their data from the native app, maybe some of them will migrate to other social networks and share their artwork there as well. This might be a trap that Instagram is opening, but with its capacity of cloning features from other networks, it might not be so disastrous for them.
What do you think of the new tool Instagram has developed? Will you download the information from the platform? Will it help you in any way?

Images from TechCrunch

See also: Best Ways To Improve Your Marketing Using Instagram Insights