Instagram announced this week that users will have more control over the data they share with third-party applications and websites.
Applications and websites can ask users for permission to access their Instagram photos or connect their accounts. Examples provided by Instagram include apps that help users build websites or ones that allow them to print photos from their social media account.
Since users might give these types of permissions to many apps and websites, it can be difficult for them to keep track of what type of data they share with each service. The new features, which aim to address this issue, will become available in Settings -> Security -> Apps and Websites.
Users will see exactly what they share with a specific app, and they can easily revoke an application’s access if they choose to do so.
Instagram will also introduce a new authorization screen that lists the type of information a third-party app is requesting, and users will be given the option to either “Authorize” the application or “Cancel” access.
The Facebook-owned social media platform says these updates will be rolled out gradually over the next six months.
Facebook announced recently that Instagram had been added to its Data Abuse Bug Bounty program, which offers researchers between $500 and tens of thousands of dollars for reports of apps that collect user data and transfer it to a third-party.
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