Instagram announced plans to offer a data download tool a while ago, and today the Facebook-owned image sharing network delivered. The driving force behind the project has been the requirement to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law, which requires organizations to let individuals download any data that’s been gathered on them.
The tool is now available on the Instagram website, ahead of the May 25th deadline.
To use the tool, simply enter your email and Instagram password, and Instagram will send you a "link to a file with your photos, comments, profile information and more. " The page says the process may take up to 48 hours, but I received the download link almost instantaneously when trying the feature.
Data is provided in a zip-file that includes all your photos and videos, neatly sorted into folders by upload month. Comments, settings, messages and other non-image information is packed in the JavaScript Object Notation (json) format, so you'll need a suitable app for viewing.
According to the Instagram help pages, you should also be able able to download your data file through the "Account Data" option in the app settings but, at least in the case of my Android app, the required update has not made it through to my device yet at this point.
2018-4-26 16:49
