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. 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.

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. Two parts of it you can review in the app are your Instagram watch history and the posts you liked and comments you made.

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. For comparison, what data TikTok collects about you 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). How your activity shapes your feed is covered in how to see and reset your Instagram 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). The steps are in how to download your Instagram 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.
5. Limit content reuse in AI features under Sharing and reuse; see how to turn off Meta AI search on Instagram.

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.