A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW & RANKING OF PRIVACY & SAFETY INFORMATION OF INSTAGRAM

Welcome to the fourth in a new series of blog posts here on BeSecureOnline.

In this series we take a comprehensive review of the user safety information provided by social networking sites. Each site is scored across five key attributes:

1. Interest in user wellbeing
2. Execution
3. Quality of information
4. Confidence
5. International emphasis

In this the fourth instalment of the series we turn our attention to Instagram.

Profile

Instagram is a part of Facebook, assisting users by analysing their Facebook profiles, to determine location, interests, photographs and general profile information. Instagram is incredibly popular with teenagers. 

Health and Safety Sections

The help centre is extremely text heavy and does not imply an enjoyable use of the service. It is also limited in its focus on international assistance, though it mentions the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia in places. There are no helpful videos and few links to useful external sites.

Summary

Instagram's help centre does the bare minimum, is unclear and lacks completely in empathy. It appears that it was written by a legal team to see off potential liability opposed to being written in a sympathetic, easily understood manner for people in distress. 

Final Impression

The section is extensive and suffers from being too interested in covering off Facebook and Instagram potential liabilities. Otherwise, a very poor effort which needs a serious overhaul. They could learn from Twitter and Snapchat who have ensured full transparency and assistance to anyone who requires it. Instagram, has surprisingly earned the lowest ranking so far. 

There must be some truth to the claim that Instagram runs itself, however Facebook's decision to allow such a poor health and safety sections is strange. Instagram's growth of 23% is clearly distracting the parent from its governance commitments. 

About BeSecureOnline

BeSecureOnline.co.uk sells internet security software to make your online life safer, more secure, and protects your privacy and identity.

For more information about our our antivirus products or internet safety talks, please contact us.