A data portability tool could help the company respond to criticism and comply with EU regulations.

As data protection and privacy becomes a big issue around the world, social networking companies like Instagram need to appropriately take care of the information we share. One of the provisions of the UK's upcoming Data Protection Bill would require companies to allow its users to easily move their data from one service to another. To that end, Facebook-owned Instagram just confirmed to TechCrunch that it is building a new data portability tool so users can download a copy of everything they've put on the service, including photos, videos and messages.

Such a tool would make it easier for people to move to competing photo social networks, much like Facebook's own Download Your Information tool, which has been touted as a way to #DeleteFacebook. While such a tool would help Instagram comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it could also help us all protect our precious memories with a locally-stored backup of our Instagram feeds, especially if it's in a high enough resolution. TechCrunch says that details of how the Instagram data will arrive on your hard drive and at what level of verisimilitude should come from Instagram closer to when the company actually launches its new tool.

Source:
courtesy of ENGADGET

by Rob LeFebvre

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