Instagram's privacy policy rewritten for kids and parents (from UK government report)

[Arthur]

The Children's Commissioner published a report on 5th January 2017 called "Growing Up Digital" (PDF). This contains a child-friendly version of Instagram's terms of service that was written by UK-based law firm. I thought this might be worth posting since I did a search and couldn't find any previous threads.

 

A lawyer rewrote Instagram’s privacy policy so kids and parents can have a meaningful talk about privacy

 

In Britain, more than half of 12- to 15-year-olds are on Instagram, according to OfCom (pdf), the country’s communications regulator. So are 43% of 8- to 11-year-olds. But how many of them understand what they signed when they joined? Pretty much 0%, according to "Growing Up Digital", a report released 5 Jan. (pdf) by the UK Children’s Commissioner.

 

“Are you sure this is necessary? There are like, 100 pages,” said one 13-year-old who was asked to read Instagram’s terms of service. (Actually 17 pages, with 5,000 words, but still plenty).

 

For the report, Jenny Afia, a privacy law expert at Schillings, a UK-based law firm, rewrote Instagram’s terms of service in child-friendly language (see page 10).

 

Report: Growing Up Digital Taskforce Report January 2016 (PDF)

 

INSTAGRAM TERMS: Our Rules if you want to use Instagram

 

1. You have to be 13 or over.
    
    
   
2. Don’t post anything showing violence, or that might make other people feel scared, or any images that contain nudity.
    
    
   
3. Don’t use anybody else’s account without their permission or try to find out their login details.
    
    
   
4. Don’t let anyone else use your account.
    
    
   
5. Keep your password secret.
    
    
   
6. Don’t bully anyone or post anything horrible about people.
    
    
   
7. Don’t post other peoples’ private or personal information.
    
    
   
8. Don’t use Instagram to do anything illegal or that we tell you not to.
    
    
   
9. If you want to add a website to your username, make sure you get permission from Instagram first.
    
    
   
10. Don’t change anything about our website or applications, upload any type of virus or do anything that might interfere with the way Instagram works. Don’t send us ideas on how to improve Instagram.
     
     
    
11. Don’t use any type of software or robot to create accounts or access Instagram, and don’t send spam or unwanted emails.
     
     
    
12. Read our Community Guidelines and obey them when using Instagram.
     
     
    
13. Don’t do anything that might affect how other people use and enjoy Instagram.
     
     
    
14. Don’t encourage anyone to break these rules.
    

YOUR RIGHTS AND OUR RIGHTS

 

1. You have the right to feel safe using Instagram.
    
    
   
2. Officially you own any original pictures and videos you post, but we are allowed to use them, and we can let others use them as well, anywhere around the world. Other people might pay us to use them and we will not pay you for that.
    
    
   
3. You are responsible for anything you do using Instagram and anything you post, including things you might not expect such as usernames, data and other people's music.
    
    
   
4. It will be assumed that you own what you post, and what you post does not break the law. If it does, and you are fined, you will have to pay that fine.
    
    
   
5. Although you are responsible for the information you put on Instagram, we may keep, use and share your personal information with companies connected with Instagram. This information includes your name, email address, school, where you live, pictures, phone number, your likes and dislikes, where you go, who your friends are, how often you use Instagram, and any other personal information we find such as your birthday or who you are chatting with, including in private messages (DMs). We are not responsible for what other companies might do with this information. We will not rent or sell your personal information to anyone else without your permission. When you delete your account, we keep this personal information about you, and your photos, for as long as is reasonable for our business purposes. You can read more about this in our "Privacy Policy". This is available at: http://instagram.com/legal/privacy/.
    
    
   
6. Instagram is also not responsible for:
    
   
   • Links on Instagram from companies or people we do not control, even if we send those links to you ourselves.
     
   • What happens if you connect your Instagram account to another app or website, for instance by sharing a picture, and the other app does something with it or takes your personal details.
     
   • The cost of any data you use while using Instagram.
     
   • If your photos are lost or stolen from Instagram.
     

 

[*]Although Instagram is not responsible for what happens to you or your data while you use Instagram, we do have many powers:

 

• We might send you adverts connected to your interests which we are monitoring. You cannot stop us doing this and it will not always be obvious that it is an advert.
  
• We can change or end Instagram, or stop you accessing Instagram at any time, for any reason and without letting you know in advance. We can also delete posts and other content randomly, without telling you, for any reason. If we do this, we will not be responsible for paying out any money and you won’t have any right to complain.
  
• We can force you to give up your username for any reason.
  
• We can, but do not have to, remove, edit, block and/or monitor anything posted or any accounts that we think breaks any of these rules. We are not responsible if somebody breaks the law or breaks these rules; but if you break them, you are responsible. You should use common sense and your best judgment when using Instagram.
  

 

[*]Although you do not own your data, we do own ours. You may not copy and paste Instagram logos or other stuff we create, or remove it or try to change it.

 

 

[*]You can close your Instagram account by logging into Instagram and completing this form: https://instagram.com/accounts/remove/request/. If you do, your photos, posts and profile will disappear from your account but if anyone has shared your photos or personal details, or if we have used them ourselves for any reason, they might still appear on Instagram. We will also keep all the data we already have from you and can use it as explained in paragraph 5 above.

 

 

[*]We can change these rules whenever we like by posting an update on Instagram, whether you notice it or not.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Arthur