These are Instagram's old terms from before 2013, which were significantly more user-friendly than current terms. They explicitly state Instagram does not claim ownership of your content and only license it while posted. However, they can still terminate accounts for any reason without notice and delete content at will.
The Bottom Line
AI-generated summary of the terms as we read them. Opinion, not legal advice.
These are Instagram's old terms from before 2013, which were significantly more user-friendly than current terms. They explicitly state Instagram does not claim ownership of your content and only license it while posted. However, they can still terminate accounts for any reason without notice and delete content at will.
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Notable Clauses
“We reserve the right to modify or terminate the Instagram service for any reason, without notice at any time.”
“Although Instagram will normally only delete Content that violates this Agreement, Instagram reserves the right to delete any Content for any reason, without prior notice.”
“We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.”
“While Instagram prohibits such conduct and content on its site, you understand and agree that Instagram cannot be responsible for the Content posted on its web site and you nonetheless may be exposed to such materials and that you use the Instagram service at your own risk.”
“By displaying or publishing ("posting") any Content on or through the Instagram Services, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such Conte...”
“Consequently, Instagram encourages you to maintain your own backup of your Content. In other words, Instagram is not a backup service.”
“Instagram does NOT claim ANY ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials (collectively, "Content") that you post on or through the Instagram Services.”
Protect Yourself
ACTIONABLESettings and actions you can take to limit your exposure
Download Your Instagram Data
Export all your photos, videos, and account data before Instagram can delete anything
- Go to Instagram Settings → Privacy and Security → Data Download
- Select 'Request Download' and choose HTML or JSON format
- Wait for email with download link (can take up to 48 hours)
Make Your Account Private
Limit who can see your content since their license only applies to publicly posted content
- Go to Settings → Privacy → Account Privacy
- Toggle on 'Private Account'
- Review and approve follower requests individually
Turn Off Data Sharing with Facebook
Limit how Instagram shares your activity data with other Meta companies
- Go to Settings → Accounts Center → Your Information and Permissions
- Select 'Data Sharing' and turn off sharing between Instagram and Facebook
Disable Location Services
Stop Instagram from accessing your location data and adding it to posts
- Go to phone Settings → Apps → Instagram → Permissions
- Turn off Location permission
- In Instagram: Settings → Privacy → Location → turn off 'Location Services'
Disclaimer: The clauses shown above are excerpts from publicly available Terms of Service documents. Ratings and severity levels reflect community and AI assessment, not legal advice, factual claims, or determinations about a company's legality or intent. Clauses marked “VERIFIED” have been confirmed as exact quotes from the source document. Clauses marked “AI-extracted” were identified by AI and may contain errors. Always verify against the original TOS.
Get notified when Instagram updates their TOS
We'll email you what changed and what it means
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.