Instagram Privacy Policy

We have implemented features from Instagram on our website. Instagram is a social media platform of the company Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA. Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. since 2012 and is part of the Facebook products. The embedding of Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you visit web pages on our site that have an Instagram feature embedded, data is transmitted to Instagram, stored and processed. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is therefore processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we would like to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data is involved, and how you can largely control the data processing. Because Instagram is part of Facebook Inc., we obtain our information from the Instagram policies on the one hand, but also from the Facebook data policies themselves on the other.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks worldwide. Instagram combines the advantages of a blog with the benefits of audiovisual platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. On “Insta” (as many of the users casually call the platform) you can upload photos and short videos, edit them with various filters and also distribute them in other social networks. And if you don’t want to be active yourself, you can just follow other interesting users.

Why do we use Instagram on our website?

Instagram is the social media platform that has really gone through the roof in recent years. And of course we have also reacted to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That’s why a varied preparation of our content is a matter of course for us. With the embedded Instagram functions we can enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. Since Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be used for personalized advertising on Facebook. This way, our ads are only shown to people who are really interested in our products or services.

Instagram also uses the collected data for measurement and analysis purposes. We get summarized statistics and thus get more insight about your wishes and interests. It is important to note that these reports do not personally identify you.

What data is stored by Instagram?

If you come across one of our sites that has Instagram features (such as Instagram images or plug-ins) built in, your browser will automatically connect to Instagram’s servers. Data is sent to Instagram, stored and processed. Whether you have an Instagram account or not. This includes information about our website, your computer, purchases made, advertisements you see and how you use our services. We also record the date and time of your interaction with Instagram. If you have an Instagram account or are logged in, Instagram stores significantly more information about you.

Facebook distinguishes between customer data and event data. We assume that this is the case with Instagram. Customer data includes, for example, name, address, phone number and IP address. This customer data will not be submitted to Instagram until you have been “hashed”. Hashing means that a record is converted into a string of characters. This allows you to encrypt the contact information. In addition, the “event data” mentioned above is also transmitted. By “event data” Facebook – and consequently Instagram – understands data about your user behavior. It can also happen that contact data is combined with event data. The contact information collected will be matched against the information Instagram already has about you.

Via small text files (cookies), which are usually set in your browser, the collected data are transmitted to Facebook. Depending on the Instagram features used and whether you have an Instagram account yourself, different amounts of data are stored.

We assume that data processing at Instagram works the same way as on Facebook. This means that if you have an Instagram account or have visited www.instagram.com, Instagram has at least one cookie set. If this is the case, your browser uses the cookie to send information to Instagram whenever you come into contact with an Instagram feature. After 90 days (after matching) at the latest, this data is deleted or anonymized. Although we have worked extensively with Instagram’s data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

In the following we show you cookies that are set in your browser at least when you click on an Instagram function (such as a button or an Insta image). In our test we assume that you do not have an Instagram account. Of course, if you are logged in to Instagram, significantly more cookies will be set in your browser.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: “”
Purpose: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent fake requests. However, we could not find out more about this.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: mid
Value: “”
Purpose: Instagram uses this cookie to optimize its own services and offerings inside and outside Instagram. The cookie defines a unique user ID.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: fbsr_221120704124024
Value: not specified
Purpose: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: rur
Value: ATN
Purpose: This is an Instagram cookie that ensures functionality on Instagram.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: urlgen
Value: “{“194.96.75.33″: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe221120704”
Purpose: This cookie is for Instagram’s marketing purposes.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Note: We cannot claim completeness here. Which cookies are set in each individual case depends on the embedded functions and your use of Instagram.

How long and where is the data stored?

Instagram shares the information it receives between Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with around the world. Data processing is done in accordance with Instagram’s own data policy. For security reasons, among others, your data is distributed on Facebook servers around the world. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Thanks to the basic data protection regulation, you have the right to information, transferability, correction and deletion of your data. You can manage your data in the Instagram settings. If you want to completely delete your data on Instagram, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

Here’s how deleting your Instagram account works:

First open the Instagram app. On your profile page, scroll down and click on “Help”. You will now be taken to the company’s website. On the website, click on “Manage your account” and then click on “Delete your account”.

If you completely delete your account, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you is not part of your account and will not be deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram stores your information primarily through cookies. You can manage, disable or delete these cookies in your browser. Depending on your browser, the administration will always work slightly differently. Here we show you the instructions of the most important browsers.

You can also configure your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. Then you can always decide individually whether you want to accept the cookie or not.

Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. and Facebook is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. This framework ensures correct data transmission between the USA and the European Union.

Learn more at https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC and  https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875.

Source: Created with an imprint generator, translated by DeepL.