Photo sharing app Instagram is working on a tool that will allow users download their personal data, including previously shared photos, videos and messages, as it prepares for the European data regulation GDPR.
Facebook that owns Instagram, has already introduced new set of GDPR controls, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasised before the Congress, Instagram had been quiet on the issue.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) brings with it a number of rights for individuals, including to demand deletion of data, to opt out of future data collection, and to view the personal data a company possesses and to download it in a format that can be moved over to competitors.
“We are building a new data portability tool. You’ll soon be able to download a copy of what you’ve shared on Instagram, including your photos, videos and messages,” an Instagram spokesperson has said.
The tool will be helpful for users who want to know information they share with the Instagram.
GDPR will come to effect on May 25, which means next month we will witness many more announcements similar to Instagram’s. Tech giants including Google, have yet to confirm whether they are altering their products to comply with the regulation.
The company is also working on a “Nametags” feature that lets you create a special image that people can scan with the Instagram Stories camera to follow you.
Nametags will be designed to make it easy for people to visually promote their Instagram account. With Nametags, users can simply tap and follow a friend they just met by having them open their Nametag and then scanning it.
Businesses and social media influencers can post their Nametag across other social media handles, s or could even make merchandise out of it.
An Instagram spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch that it is testing the Nametags feature.
Once the feature goes live, users will be able to hit a QR scanner button on their profile to pop up the Nametag editor. They can then choose from a purple Instagram colour gradient background, a pattern of one emoji or a selfie with augmented reality face filters -- that later becomes an emoji pattern.
