On 17 December Instagram unleashed brand-new terms of service that has rubbed many of its loyal users the wrong way. Instagram can sell your photos to third parties for ads without telling you.

While the chances are slim that a photo of your cat will end up on the side of a bus selling Meow Mix, the change to the photo-sharing company's terms of service is broad in its assertion of rights to use its users' photos. Here is the offending passage from the new TOS:

Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.


If the new terms are tough for you to swallow, there is a way to quickly remove yourself from the many-filtered ways of Instagram.

First you'll want to download all of your photos. Instaport will download your entire Instagram photo library in just a few minutes. Currently the service only offers a zip file download of your photos, although direct export to Flickr and Facebook are in the works.

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Once the photos are downloaded, you can upload them to another photo service. Some of the Wired staff is fond of the new Flickr app and service.

After you've removed your photos from Instagram, you can quickly delete your account and pretend you've never even heard of Lo-Fi filter.

But once you delete your account, that's it. Instagram cannot reactivate deactivated accounts and you will not be able to sign up for Instagram later with the same account name.


That's it. Other than, of course, finding another photo service to see photos of meals and your friends' feet.

Source: Wired.com

Image: Roberto Baldwin/Wired/CC