# What Data Does Instagram Collect About You? Instagram, run by Meta, collects what you post and do in the app, who you connect with, information about your device and connection, and information that partners and advertisers share about your activity elsewhere, as set out in Meta's Privacy Policy. [![apidojo](/blog/authors/apidojo.png)**Apidojo** *15+ years of experience in data retrieval.*](/blog/authors/apidojo/) **16 October 2026** Published **3 min** Read ![Cover card reading 'What Data Does Instagram Collect About You?'](/blog/covers/what-data-instagram-collects.png) **Instagram, run by Meta, collects what you post and do in the app, who you connect with, information about your device and connection, and information that partners and advertisers share about your activity elsewhere, as set out in Meta’s Privacy Policy.** You can review much of it by downloading your data, and limit some of it in Accounts Center, for example by disconnecting off-Meta activity and contact syncing. This is one of the data tasks that start from [downloading your Instagram data](/blog/instagram-data/download-your-data/). The policy is long, so this guide groups what’s collected, explains what it’s used for, and lists the controls that actually change something. Meta’s full text is the [Meta Privacy Policy](https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy). Two parts of it you can review in the app are [your Instagram watch history](/blog/instagram-data/watch-history/) and [the posts you liked and comments you made](/blog/instagram-data/liked-posts/). ## What Information Does Instagram Collect? **Meta’s Privacy Policy groups the information it collects into a few broad kinds.** The table summarises them with examples. | Kind of information | Examples | | --- | --- | | Your activity and what you provide | Posts, captions, messages you send and receive, comments, likes, searches, what you watch | | Friends, followers and connections | Who you follow, who follows you, contacts you upload | | App, browser and device information | Device type, operating system, connection, location signals such as IP address | | Information from partners | Activity on other websites and apps that use Meta’s business tools | The categories follow Meta’s Privacy Policy (Meta). Synced contacts are covered in [how to find contacts, Facebook friends and suggested accounts on Instagram](/blog/instagram-search/find-contacts/). For comparison, [what data TikTok collects about you](/blog/tiktok-data/what-data-tiktok-collects/) covers the same question for TikTok. ## What Does Instagram Use Your Data For? **Meta uses the information to run and personalise Instagram, including recommendations, ads, safety and research.** Recommendations are described in Meta’s system cards for each part of the app, such as Feed, Reels and Search ([Meta Transparency Center](https://transparency.meta.com/features/explaining-ranking/)). How your activity shapes your feed is covered in [how to see and reset your Instagram algorithm](/blog/instagram-data/your-algorithm/). ## How Do You See the Data Instagram Has About You? **Request an export from Accounts Center, under Your information and permissions, then Export your information.** It contains your content, messages, connections, searches and other activity, and stays available to download for 4 days once ready ([Instagram Help Center](https://help.instagram.com/181231772500920)). The steps are in [how to download your Instagram data](/blog/instagram-data/download-your-data/). ## How Do You Limit What Instagram Collects? **Several settings in Accounts Center and Instagram reduce what’s collected or how it’s used.** Listed below are the 5 that make a real difference. 1. **Disconnect off-Meta activity**: Accounts Center, Your information and permissions, Your activity off Meta technologies. 2. **Stop uploading contacts**: Accounts Center, Upload contacts. 3. **Review ad preferences** in Accounts Center. 4. **Clear search history**; see [how to clear Instagram search history and reset suggestions](/blog/instagram-search/clear-search-history/). 5. **Limit content reuse in AI features** under Sharing and reuse; see [how to turn off Meta AI search on Instagram](/blog/instagram-search/turn-off-meta-ai-search/). ## What Can Other People See About You? **Other people see only what’s public: your profile, public posts, comments and, for public accounts, your followers and following lists.** That public layer is also what research tools can read; private accounts limit it to approved followers. What scrapers can and can’t collect is covered in [how to scrape Instagram data in 2026](/blog/instagram-scraping/how-to-scrape-instagram/). ## Questions people ask ### Does Instagram sell your data? Meta's Privacy Policy describes how information is shared with partners and advertisers; read it for the exact terms. ### Does Instagram listen through your microphone? You control microphone access in your phone's app permissions; Instagram needs it for features such as recording reels and calls. ### Can you stop Instagram tracking you on other sites? You can disconnect off-Meta activity in Accounts Center. ### Does deleting your account delete your data? Deleting starts removal; the Privacy Policy explains what may be kept and for how long. ## More on your Instagram data - [How to Download Your Instagram Data (2026 Steps) Export your Instagram data from Accounts Center, choose HTML or JSON, see what's included, and download it within 4 days.](/blog/instagram-data/download-your-data/) - [How Long Does an Instagram Data Export Take? What makes Instagram data exports slow, how to speed them up, where to download them within 4 days, and what to do if one never arrives.](/blog/instagram-data/export-time/) - [How to Find Deleted Messages on Instagram What can and can't be recovered after deleting or unsending Instagram messages, and how to avoid losing messages again.](/blog/instagram-data/deleted-messages/) - [How to See Posts You Liked and Comments on Instagram Find posts you liked and comments you made in Your activity, unlike in bulk, and get older history from your data download.](/blog/instagram-data/liked-posts/) - [How to Find Saved Posts and Reels on Instagram Find your saved Instagram posts and reels, organise them into collections, and see why saved posts sometimes disappear.](/blog/instagram-data/saved-posts/) - [Find Archived Posts and Old Stories on Instagram Find your Instagram archive, old stories and highlights, unarchive posts, add stories to highlights, and fix an empty archive.](/blog/instagram-data/archived-posts/) - [How to See Your Instagram Watch History Find reels you watched in Instagram's Watch history, use likes, saves and your data download as backups, and keep reels you want.](/blog/instagram-data/watch-history/) - [How Much Mobile Data Does Instagram Use? Why Instagram uses so much mobile data, how to check your real usage, and the settings and habits that cut it.](/blog/instagram-data/mobile-data-usage/) - [How to Find Messages on Instagram (Hidden Requests) Find Instagram DMs, message requests and hidden requests, search your chats, and see why a message seems to have vanished.](/blog/instagram-data/find-messages/) - [Find Recently Deleted Posts and Stories on Instagram Restore deleted Instagram posts, reels and stories from Recently deleted, with the 30-day and 24-hour limits explained.](/blog/instagram-data/recently-deleted/) - [How to See and Reset Your Instagram Algorithm Use Your Algorithm to see and edit the topics shaping your feed, or reset suggested content to start fresh across Feed, Reels and Explore.](/blog/instagram-data/your-algorithm/) ![apidojo](/blog/authors/apidojo.png) ## [Apidojo](/blog/authors/apidojo/) 15+ years of experience in data retrieval. API Dojo is always ready for you. 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