How to Stop Instagram from Tracking Everything You Do

Are you concerned that your privacy is being invaded by the daily use of the Instagram platform? You are not the only one with such concerns. The issue arose with the release of data years ago regarding Facebook and the acquisition of personal information from their account users.

Before we get into how to stop Instagram from tracking you, we thought it prudent to reveal to our readers how Instagram could be spying and tracking you.

How Instagram is tracking/ spying on you

Let’s briefly go over the few methods that Instagram could use to spy on you:

– The “active” feature. The feature recognizes when you were last online. It can also note down and match up the timings with photos that you have posted online.

– Location and geotagging. Most of us have given Instagram access to the location of our smartphone devices. It allows them to know where we are when we post, make an Instagram reel, or make a video.

– The contacts list. Have you given Instagram access to your contacts list? What other details are they able to access about your family, friends, and acquaintances?

– “Mic” access. Concerns have been raised over Instagram’s ability to listen to our conversations.

You will notice that some features mentioned above are important or crucial for any Instagram account user. Without them, you are unable to connect with your following or make a living. Therefore, it is completely impossible to stop Instagram from getting a piece of your life. However, you can be able to limit it.

Deleting data

You should be aware that Instagram has collected some data about you. You can be able to access this by going to the application’s settings and then selecting the security option. Head over to Access Data where you will be given an option to download the information. Here you will see your phone numbers, email addresses, and password changes.

If you are wondering how to clear search history on Instagram, you can be able to do so through the security icon/ menu. However, Instagram will maintain ‘partial’ records of what you have searched. The platform released information in the past confirming the same.

Advertising

You might have felt as though some of the ads that you receive are targeted by searches that you have done in the past. This is true thanks to targeted ads through third-party companies. You can restrict this through the Facebook application.

Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, and scroll to “Ad Preferences.” Continue to Ad Settings and to “Data about your activity from partners.” You will find toggle switches for Facebook and Instagram. Turn them off. You can do the same on the Instagram app.

Access

As mentioned earlier, it is highly possible that you allowed Instagram access to your device’s GPS, microphone, or contacts for one reason or another. You can be able to change this option, whether you have an Android or iOS device. Simply go to Settings and then Applications. You will need to find the Instagram application. Here you will see the different forms of access to the different applications.

Depending on your needs, you can change the access of Instagram to the different features and elements of your phone.