New Instagram 'rule': The reality behind the viral image you're being told to share to stop privacy permissions being violated

Instagram won't listen if you share post telling it not to 'use your photos' – it already can

(AFP/Getty Images)

An Instagram post has been shared across the entire internet, by many of the world's most popular and powerful people. But it is entirely a hoax.

The post claims that Instagram is making a major change to its terms and conditions, in a way that will give it permission to use your picture as well as other information stored in your account.

But it suggests that by sharing the post – and expressing to Instagram that you want to opt out – the updated rules will not apply and Instagram will continue to respect your privacy.

The post is very believable: it uses specific references and legalistic language that suggests it knows what it is talking about.

It is also entirely fake. There is no Instagram rules change; posting an image would not be enough to opt out even if there were; and, what's more, Instagram already has the ability to use your information in some of the ways it discusses.

The real Instagram terms are available on the company's website. They detail exactly what the company gets from you when you sign up, and what you have committed to do: the rules are wide-ranging, including granting Instagram the license to take your content.

Users have already assented to these rules, because they need to do so to sign up and post content. As such, posting a message arguing against them on Instagram is unlikely to have any effect on the company.

Instagram argues that it needs the license to share your photos because it takes your photos and shares them across the internet, and so it needs to be able to use your pictures to do so. That means that the viral image's claim that you can simply stop having your photos used is not only contrary to the terms of the site but also would make sharing an image at all impossible.

The same is true of other parts of the viral image. It claims, for instance, that the content of the poster's profile is "private and confidential information", but given they are being shared on public and easily available Instagram profiles, the claim is simply untrue.

The wording of the post has been around in some form since the beginning of social networks. Indeed, the version of the post that has been shared by some users appears to have been crudely edited from another version, with whatever the original word was being swapped out for the word "Instagram", written in a different font and at a different size.

As such, it has been widely debunked repeatedly. But it continues to spread, presumably because there is such concern and confusion about the terms and conditions of websites like Instagram and Facebook.

In the latest incident, the image has been shared far and wide, by many of the most powerful and famous people in the world. Here is one example that includes the same wording as in most of the posts, which is taken from the Instagram page of Rick Perry, who oversees the US nuclear arsenal:

There are a variety of ways to make your profile less public, and protecting your images and identity. They include making use of Instagram's privacy options, which allow users to make their profile private and hide it from anyone who isn't approved as a follower.