@osenoa April 3, 2012 - April 3, 2023
I’ve been thinking about abandoning my Instagram account for a while now. It is my last remaining social media account and by far the hardest habit to break. I've been trying to for a while but keep finding myself back there. The good news is I finally have my personal site to a point where I can still satisfy that "gotta post something" urge.
I went through the content I've uploaded to Instagram over the years and realized that - maybe it’s fate, maybe just a coincidence - it was exactly 11 years ago today, on April 3, 2012, when I posted my first photo. So it seemed fitting to quit on an anniversary.
I went ahead and requested a copy of my data and got way more than I bargained for. I received links to two zip files totaling about 4GB within a couple of hours (they say it can take up to 30 days). The amount of things they supplied is wild! Look at the list at the bottom of this post. Content (what you'd believe to be the point of Instagram) is all the way down in 22nd place!
I realize that Google or Amazon capture the same amount of data about me yet I will continue to use those, but as of today I can at least say Meta's revenue stream will drop by a miniscule fraction because of this decision. I promised myself a while ago that when Meta buys Google (or its parent company Alphabet), I will quit the internet. 😃
Anyway, the download of my Instagram data was very well organized and they made it easily accessible from an index.html file. They give you a copy you can preserve wherever you want without having to do any work. Just extract the zip files somewhere and you’re set.
I wasn’t a heavy user of Instagram to begin with but it still ate up a lot of my attention apparently (another reason for quitting) which created a significant footprint in their database.
Take a look at this list of what you too will receive if or when you ask for a download of your data.
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Comments (Comments you've posted on your own content or on other people's content)
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Contacts (Contact information you've added for other people)
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Your topics (A collection of topics determined by your activity on Instagram that is used to create recommendations for you in different areas of Instagram, such as Reels, feed recommendations, and Shopping)
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Messages (Messages you've exchanged with other people)
- Chats
- Reported conversations
- Secret conversations
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Guides (Guides you've created)
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Media Settings (Changes you've made to your media controls in settings)
- Comments allowed from
- Filtered Keywords for Posts
- Use cross-app messaging
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Information about you (Information that may be associated with your account)
- Ads interests
- Account based in
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Personal information (Personal information you’ve added to your profile)
- Account information
- IGTV information
- Personal information
- Professional information
- Profile changes
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Login and account creation (Information associated with your account, such as your login activity and the information you used when you signed up)
- Signup information
- Logout activity
- Login activity
- Last Known Location
- Account privacy changes
- Account Status Changes
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Past Instagram Insights (Your lifetime Instagram Insights data.)
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Saved (Posts, collections, draft videos, music, locations, and reposts you've saved)
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Ads and Topics (Ads, profiles, content and topics. Topics from any linked accounts must be downloaded from those accounts directly.)
- Accounts you're not interested in
- Ads clicked
- Ads viewed
- Posts viewed
- Posts you're not interested in
- Suggested accounts viewed
- Topics you’re not interested in
- Videos watched
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Autofill information (Autofill information for your account)
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Device information (Information about your devices)
- Devices
- Camera information
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Recent searches (A history of your recent searches)
- Word or phrase searches
- Account searches
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Events (Your reminders for events and a list of the events you've created)
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Fundraisers (Fundraisers you created, joined or added to profile)
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Likes (Content you've liked)
- Liked comments
- Liked posts
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Followers and following (Accounts and tags you choose to see content from, and accounts who follow you)
- Blocked accounts
- Close Friends
- Followers
- Following
- Following hashtags
- Pending follow requests
- Recent follow requests
- Recently Unfollowed Accounts
- Removed suggestions
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Shopping (Information about your shopping activity on Instagram)
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Story sticker interactions (Interactions you've had with other people's story stickers)
- Emoji sliders
- Polls
- Questions
- Quizzes
- Story Likes
- Story Reaction Sticker Reactions
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Content (Content you've shared)
- IGTV videos
- Other content
- Posts
- Profile photos
- Recently deleted content
- Reels
- Stories
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Instagram Ads and businesses (Ad topics that are relevant to you, advertisers who have collected information directly from you, information you've submitted to advertisers and your interactions with businesses and organizations you visit off of Instagram.)
- Advertisers using your activity or information
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Loyalty accounts (Details of all loyalty accounts linked and accounts uploaded by partners and matched to the user based on email)
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Monetization (Information about your monetization eligibility and activity on Instagram)
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Apps and websites (Apps and websites you’ve connected to your account)
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Reports (Reports you've submitted to Instagram)
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Digital Wallets (The digital wallets connected to your IG account)
- Use of wallets across accounts
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Avatars Store (Info associated with Avatars Store, such as your personal avatar, and avatar items you purchased or added to your closet.)
(Crazy.)
Going forward this is the only site I will update. You're welcome to pop in anytime and take a look around. It’ll all be here. In one place. Without algorithms or ads.