In the second installment of our Protect Your Privacy series, we’re diving into Instagram’s data collection practices and showing you how to take control. From geotagging to ad tracking, here’s a step-by-step guide to safeguarding your personal information and photos from being harvested by Instagram.
This guide is tailored for iPhones and iPads, but don’t worry—similar instructions for Android devices are coming soon!
Steps to Prevent Instagram from Collecting Your Data
1. Turn Off Location Tagging for Your Photos
Every photo you take contains location metadata unless you disable geotagging. This data can be used to track your whereabouts, so it’s a good idea to turn it off entirely in your camera settings.
Here’s how to remove location tagging from all your photos:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Privacy → Location Services → Camera.
- Select Never to completely stop your camera from adding geolocation data to pictures.
2. Disable Instagram’s Access to Your Location
Instagram uses your location to enhance its services and sell targeted ads. To keep your location private:
- Go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services.
- Scroll down to Instagram and tap it.
- Choose Never to stop Instagram from accessing your location.
3. Revoke Instagram’s Access to Your Photo Library
By default, Instagram has access to your entire photo library. Limiting its access can give you more control.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll to the Instagram app.
- Tap Photos → None (or select Selected Photos if you want to allow access to specific pictures only).
When you want to post a photo, manually share it to Instagram:
- Open the Photos app.
- Select the photo you’d like to post.
- Tap the Share button and choose Instagram from the options.
- Add your caption and tap Share in the upper-right corner.
4. Enable Limit Ad Tracking
Even with restricted photo and location access, advertisers can still try to track you. By enabling “Limit Ad Tracking,” you make it harder for apps like Instagram to create advertising profiles about you.
To enable this feature:
- Go to Settings → Privacy → Tracking.
- Toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track.
This won’t stop all tracking, but it’s an important step toward reducing how much of your data is collected for advertising.
Stay Tuned for More Tips
By following these steps, you’ve already made great progress in protecting your privacy on Instagram. Keep an eye on our blog—we’ll soon share more guides, including how to enable “Limit Ad Tracking” in detail and tips for Android users.
Take control of your data today. Every step you take matters!