It’s one of Instagram’s most popular features, but if you have your account set to ‘Private’, a new report could cause concern.
The report, by Buzzfeed , warns that photos and videos shared to private accounts can be accessed, downloaded and shared publicly, thanks to a ‘stupidly simple’ work-around.
Buzzfeed explained: “The hack — which works on Instagram stories as well — requires only a rudimentary understanding of HTML and a browser. It can be done in a handful of clicks.
“A user simply inspects the images and videos that are being loaded on the page and then pulls out the source URL. This public URL can then be shared with people who are not logged in to Instagram or do not follow that private user.”
Worryingly, this issue appears to affect both posts on the main feed, and Private Stories.
Facebook claims that this isn’t an issue, and is the equivalent of screenshotting a photo and sharing it.
Speaking to Buzzfeed News, a Facebook spokesperson said: “The behaviour described here is the same as taking a screenshot of a friend’s photo on Facebook and Instagram and sharing it with other people. It doesn’t give people access to a person’s private account."
But Buzzfeed argues that this process differs from taking a screenshot of a private account for a number of reasons.
It explained: “These public URLs contain some basic info about the photo or video they link to, including details about how it was uploaded and photo dimensions.
“They also prove authenticity; you can’t fake one. Beyond this, deleted photos and videos are being stored and accessed on Facebook's content delivery network after a person took an action to remove them from their profile.”
Mirror Online has contacted Instagram for comment.
