- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
They collect lots of usage and device data, share with ads and Meta, take a broad content license.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, posts, how you use the app, cookies, device IDs, and sometimes contacts or location tags.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Your username, password and e-mail address when you register for an Instagram account.”
Training
They use it to run the app, personalize it, and show marketing and ads they think fit you.
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Privacy policy
“provide personalized content and information to you and others, which could include online ads or other forms of marketing”
Sharing
Public posts, service companies, ad partners, and other companies in Instagram’s group can get data.
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Privacy policy
“We may also share certain information such as cookie data with third-party advertising partners.”
Kept
After you delete, they may keep posts for backup; full wipe can take months.
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Privacy policy
“Following termination or deactivation of your account, Instagram may retain information (including your profile information) and User Content for a commercially reasonable time for backup, archival, and/or audit purposes.”
Controls
You can change profile and privacy settings and unsubscribe from some emails, not service emails.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Update your account at any time by logging in and changing your profile settings.”
Fine print
They can shut you off; as-is with a low damage cap.
No exact line could be verified.
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Change profile and privacy settings
Log in and change your profile settings
Unsubscribe from non-service emails
Click the unsubscribe link in those emails
Delete your account via Help Center
Instagram Help Center (deletion process described in Terms section 6)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Ad networks can get cookie and similar data so they can target ads at you.
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Privacy policy
“We may also share certain information such as cookie data with third-party advertising partners.”
For example, an ad company could use Instagram cookie data to show you ads on other sites.
They can copy, change, and your photos and videos while they are on their systems.
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Terms of service
“you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, , transferable, , worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content”
For example, they can show your photo in ads or pass it to partners as long as it is not deleted from their systems.
If someone sues them over how you used Instagram, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to defend (at our request), and hold us harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses”
For example, if a photo you posted leads to a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
They can shut your account with no warning if they think you broke rules or create risk.
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Terms of service
“We can refuse to provide or stop providing all or part of the Service to you (including terminating or disabling your access to the Meta Products and Meta Company Products) immediately”
For example, your account could disappear the same day they decide a post violated policy.
A unique ID on your phone can be used by them or partners to track use and target ads.
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Privacy policy
“A device identifier may deliver information to us or to a third party partner about how you browse and use the Service and may help us or others provide reports or personalized content and ads.”
For example, your phone’s ID could be used to keep showing you the same kind of ads.
If they change the privacy rules, keeping using the app means you agreed, even without a special alert.
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Privacy policy
“Your continued use of Instagram or the Service after any modification to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such modification.”
For example, they could add new sharing and you would be treated as having accepted it by opening the app.
They say they do not sell your info except as the policy already allows, including group companies and partners.
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Privacy policy
“We will not rent or sell your information to third parties outside Instagram (or the group of companies of which Instagram is a part) without your consent, except as noted in this Policy.”
For example, they still share cookie data with ad partners as described elsewhere.
They say they take basic steps to lock accounts, but they do not promise your data cannot be stolen.
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Privacy policy
“We use commercially reasonable safeguards to help keep the information collected through the Service secure and take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account.”
For example, they ask for a password, but they also say they cannot guarantee security.
You must be at least 13; they rely on people not signing up if they are younger.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Instagram does not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register for the Service.”
For example, a 12-year-old can still type a birthday that says they are 13.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- device identifiers
- Codes that single out your phone or computer, used to recognise you across apps and sites. For example, the advertising ID on your phone lets two unrelated apps know they are seeing the same person.
- sell or share
- Under California law, selling means passing your data to others for money or other value; sharing means passing it on for targeted ads. For example, letting an ad network use your browsing history in return for ad space counts as a sale.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
How we got here · grade D · score 36/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 4 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides account and posts, they collect logs, cookies, device IDs, analytics, optional contacts, and geotags with latitude and longitude.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Not stated in the documents.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Not stated in the documents.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They personalize marketing and share cookie data with third-party ad partners for targeted ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not rent or sell without consent except as noted, but they share with ad partners and group companies.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership, but you grant a worldwide, sublicensable license that lasts until the content is deleted from their systems.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete an account; deletion can start within 30 days and content may take up to 90 days, plus more time for backups.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They mention commercially reasonable safeguards and passwords, but no independent audit, and they say they cannot guarantee security.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 13. They say they do not knowingly allow under-13s, with no extra age check described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated, but continued use after a change counts as acceptance. Terms say they will notify before term changes.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can stop providing the service and disable access immediately to protect the community or if you violate the terms.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The app is as-is, liability is capped at $100 or what you paid in a year, and you must indemnify them.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
These documents describe an ad-funded service and extra payment terms only if you use payment features, not a standard subscription.
The privacy policy is 2,937 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 44.6); the terms are 4,328 words at a fairly hard level.
