After the controversy was uncovered this week involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, I have gathered three changes you need to make immediately to stay safe on Instagram, whose parent company is Facebook. Just because there is a privacy breach, it does not mean you should delete the app, instead, change your behavior and be aware of the risks.
Make your Instagram profile private
The first thing you need to do if your Instagram profile is public is to make it private. If your profile is public you take the risk of anyone been able to contact you, see your pictures, followers and following list.
If you make it private, people will need to send you a follower request to see your profile.
If you choose to keep your profile public, you should refrain from tagging your real location in your posts, as well as anything that can be considered personal information like passports, driver licenses, among others.
Follow diverse Instagram accounts
If you follow certain accounts that align with the point of view from one political party, someone who doesn't know in real life and stumbles into your profile, may think they know who you are, and it can lead you with a misrepresentation of yourself to others. This is especially important when you are applying for jobs, and the recruiters are looking at your social media pages.
By following diverse Instagram accounts, you will confuse Instagram's algorithm and the ads you will see in the app will not be as targeted and it will become less creepy.
Change your comments settings
If you choose to keep your account public, any random person can comment on your posts, and anyone can see them. To keep those kinds of people away, you can do quite a few things in order to make your profile cleaner and safer.
By going to the Instagram app and settings, you can enable keyboard filters to keep certain words from appearing in your comment sections. You can also turn on the feature that deletes comments that are offensive.
According to The Verge, with Instagram's new comments settings, if you keep your account public, you can also turn on the option where only people who are following you and you are following back can comment in your posts.
This way, you can keep bots from advertising in your posts, which is really annoying if you have a high follower count.
If you choose to follow at least one of these changes, you will be closer to having a better Instagram experience. This is a great app to keep up with your friends, family, colleagues, and celebrities; it is up to you make sure your experience is not ruined by algorithms, fake news, and spam. I also wrote an article a few months ago about why you should consider deactivating or deleting your Facebook account, which can be read in my profile.
