Instagram and you

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Everyday, like millions of people, you probably use Instagram. You share what's going on in your life with your friends. Show-off that you're on a gorgeous holiday whilst your friends languish at home in the rain.

We're generally happy to share those things with others, and we're aware of what we're doing. We add a location, or check-in somewhere when we post, just to rub it in a bit more that we're in some tropical paradise.

But what else are we sharing when we do this? What are we inadvertently giving to people we don't know? Asides from the obvious, publicly sharing that your house is empty, Mr Burglar, there is a whole load of other information that we're giving away for free, to anonymous third parties.

Back in 2012, the then Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said "Instagram isn't necessarily a photo company, or a communications company as I like to say, we're also going to be a big data company". Big data. WTF does that mean? It means that Instagram is not only there for you because it wants to provide a platform to help you flaunt your perfect life, it's there because it wants to know as much about you as it can, so it can use and sell this information to third parties. These third parties are more than likely trying to sell you something.
Ever noticed that after you Googled a particular product, you then see adverts for that thing in your Instagram feed? Bit creepy? Damn right it is.

REMEMBER: If it is free, then you are the product.

Lets look at what data you have submitted with that lush picture of you on that gorgeous beach and imagine I am the Instagram Big Data Monster, hungry for my data food.

Your fabulous suntanned physique

Well, that's what you took a picture of, so I guess you're happy to show that to the world.
Only real worry here could be someone taking a like to you, and... you know...stalking you. If your account is public then you're letting the entire planet see those images of you. Are you OK with that? Is there an ex you'd rather avoid?

GPS location

Exactly where you were when you took this picture. Like, EXACTLY. WHERE. YOU. WERE. GPS coordinates. This is compounded by the next set of data...

Date and time

Pretty obvious. The exact date and time, to the second, that you took the photo. So along with the GPS stuff above, I now know where you are/have been at any given time. If you're a heavy user, this allows me to build up a log of your movements. I can quite literally make a map that plotted your movements over an entire day.

Exif data

Pretty common information here that any digital camera will create. Exposure settings, flash, focal length, ISO info. Anything to worry about? Not necessarily, but part of that data is...

Camera information

I know what camera you're using, iPhone, Android phone, or another digital camera. So what? I'll tell you what.

If I'm selling you something, then I know you use a Canon 5DMkIII, so I can bombard you with adverts for Canon products. Harmless, maybe, but if I know you've got a nice, shiny big DLSR, then I can reasonably assume that you're a photographer as well. Maybe pro, maybe a hobbyist. This kind of data is a marketers wet dream. They'll have you stuffed into thier sales funnel before you can say "WTF is a sales funnel?".

There is, however, a darker side to this as well.

Lets say I'm not the Instagram Big Data Monster anymore, but instead I'm someone you've pissed off big time. I've got a grudge against you because you did a thing to me, and I want to get my revenge. The camera information could prove an invaluable puzzle piece in my quest to ruin your life. I see you have an Android phone, and it's a fairly old one. I've got myself onto a suspect forum on the Dark Web, and found out that there is an easy way for me to exploit your phone, listen to your calls and read your messages. Admittedly, this is an edge case, but it is not impossible.

Image contents

Yes, what the actual content of the image is. There are various technologies that are used everyday to scan through your Instagram images to see what information can be gleaned from them. Big brands will pay companies to analyse your photos to see of their logo appears in your images. If it does, woo-hoo. Lets get those adverts in your feed. Again, this can be considered fairly innocuous, but it does allow me to see what brands you favour, which lets me build up a profile about who you are and what you're personality is.

Other things Instagram know about you

There is one other aspect of using this app that gives further insight into who you are, and what you like to do, and that is how you interact with the app itself. What hashtags do you follow? What do you search for? Which profiles do you look at regularly? These actions determine how the app will behave for you. Which users you will see more of, which stories will be at the top of your feed.

Now some people find this frustrating in and of itself, and they don't like that the algorithm chooses what they see. But that is the least concerning thing. Whats more worrying is that Instagram can see that you mainly click on a few different girls or boys. Maybe your ex. Maybe someone you fancy.

Lets say you're gay and you've not come out yet, but you follow certain people, search for certain things or hashtags, or have a tendency to click on images of guys. From this interaction, Instagram can assume your sexual orientation. For a start, is that something you want them to know? That is highly personal information, and has the potential to compromise your life significantly.

How?

Don't forget the story of the girl that Target knew was pregnant before her family did. They give their customers an ID tied to email or credit card information. From that they can see what the customer has bought, and when. Analysing these trends can make suggestions about the person and what they might be likely to buy, which in turn is used for marketing products. This High School girl received marketing material selling baby related stuff, which drove her father to go to the store to complain and ask why they were encouraging his daughter to get pregnant.
They weren't. Turned out the girl was in fact pregnant after all, so these assumptions, be they true or false, can have life changing consequences on you.

All of these things together allow Instagram to decide who you are. Lets not forget that Instagram is owned by one of the world's biggest data mining companies, Facebook, and what makes this data powerful is it's collective nature. One or two bits on their own might not say much about you, but add that to the data Facebook have, and it's even more data points to more accurately assume who you are.

This is just one application of the myriad social apps we use, forgetting all the other data like browsing history (Google knows EVERYTHING you have ever searched for), so you can imagine the breadth of the data about you.

I'm sure no-one will read this and stop using Instagram, it's more about making informed choices and understanding what is happening when you use this, or other tools, and how they can effect your life.