I downloaded my personal data from Instagram. What sort of information do they have on me?
Think back to some of your recent Internet usage. How many times have you clicked ‘Accept Cookies’ when you visit a website for the first time, just so you can get rid of the annoying pop-up? If you’re anything like me, the answer to that question is hundreds.
The websites that have cookies, a somewhat misleading term, use them to store your information so that the next time you visit that website it is already familiar with you. Similarly, social media companies like Instagram and Twitter store your information so that every time you visit the platforms, the experience is tailored toward your interests.
To make the public more aware of the information that’s collected by businesses, more specifically technology companies, the California state legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2018 to do just that. One of the most noteworthy rights that’s given to the public from the act is the right to know about the personal information that’s stored by businesses and how that information is being used. I decided to download all of my data from Instagram last week to see what information they know about me.
Firstly, the folder I downloaded from Instagram is only about 30 megabytes in size and contains text files that have lists of information. In comparison to the data I downloaded from Google, which was about 30 gigabytes, Instagram’s depth of information about me is quite small. This may be because I was somewhat careful when creating my Instagram account and I tried to give them as little information as possible, or maybe it has more to do with the fact that I don’t use the platform as often as many of my peers do.
The data itself isn’t all that revealing. The folder I initially thought would reveal the most information, called ‘personal_information,’ turned out to be a dead end. The text files within those folders were mostly empty, besides the typical device tracking and login information that’s necessary for the platform’s security and management. There’s also a list of personal information that has my email and phone number, but no gender is listed and the birthday is incorrect (maybe I gave it to them incorrectly?).
The same goes for most of the other folders, where there are lists of accounts I’ve visited and videos I’ve watched recently. The most concerning file for me is the one called ‘advertisers_using_your_activity_or_information,’ which contains a list of about 50 companies that use my information to target me with their ads. Companies like Warner Bros. Games and Adobe are on there, but there are also some unfamiliar ones such as T27, S33, and even one called “L2323 BM5 Úp Tệp Mới.” Who knows what that is.
A deep dive into my Instagram data reveals that most of the information Instagram has on me, apart from advertisement recommendations, is what I’ve already given them. However, the fact that the data seems limited and I felt I didn’t learn anything new is a source of concern for me. While Instagram quickly allowed me to download my data, I have a sense that they’re still hiding some of it from me and are using legal barriers or other means to do so. So, interestingly, this investigation reassured me that these companies don’t have as much information on me as I thought they did, but also made me more concerned that they are not being as open as they are supposed to be.
Robert Westermann 