Instagram recently sent an email to their users to alert them of policy changes. In the email they informed their users that the policies will officially change this week.
The email may have been sent to calm down users who are also anticipating a mystery event at Facebook’s headquarters, which will be held later today.
Nobody knows what Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) has planned for this event although some think it may be a smartphone or a search engine. It’s not speculated that Instagram’s alert and Facebook announcement are related.
When Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) acquired Instagram, a popular photo sharing application for mobile devices, there was a backlash. Later, when Instagram changed their privacy policy, there was even more backlash against both companies.
Some concerned celebrities, who have faithfully used Instagram as a way to connect with their fans, even threatened to delete their accounts over policy changes. Moreover, some tech bloggers actually deleted their accounts over the policy changes as they didn’t want their work to be monetized by others.
The one revision that prompted such a backlash was the claim that Facebook had the rights to use and sell user photos without notifying or paying the user for rights. They also claimed the right to license all user photos that are publicly visible, for other companies and advertising purposes.
However, last month, Kevin Systrom, chief executive officer and founder of Instagram, eased everyone’s concerns by stating that the new changes wouldn’t occure and that the terms would go back to how they were originally with only a few revisions.
The updated policy will officially take place on January 19th.
The recent email also reminded users that they still own their photos and that the privacy policy is essentially the same as it was.
At press time, there was no word if Instagram users were content with the change.
