As Instagram’s parent company Facebook faces pressure to crack down on privacy, the photo sharing app is getting some privacy changes of its own.
Effective immediately, third-parties can no longer access follower lists, relationships information, see which posts users have “liked” or receive notifications when media is posted. Analytics companies that provide follower demographics will no longer have access to Instagram data and people can no longer use “bots” to follow accounts or “like” Instagram posts.
Ultimately this means that any apps or websites which help users follow and like posts, as well as track their metrics or edit photos for Instagram, are now – albeit maybe temporarily – redundant.
The changes will also effect the Liketoknow.it system – a popular tool used by influencers whereby people could sign up to the app, then receive an email every time they hit “Like” on a post with associated product information and buy buttons.
In an email to users over the weekend, Liketoknow.it said: “As of today, you will be able to shop Instagram content exclusively with a screenshot, as like-based shopping will no longer be supported due to changes in Facebook/Instagram’s third-party access to likes.”
What this means for influencers is that they can no longer push sales of products as easily as they could with the old system – users must now upload a screenshot.
Speaking with Business of Fashion, Texas-based influencer Ashley Robertson said that those who have eschewed the traditional blog in favour for Instagram are “scrambling”:
“It definitely has shaken up the influencer industry, especially the people who rely on Liketoknow.it solely. They don’t have another platform to provide affiliate links or generate sales.”
Even James Nord, owner of influencer tools website Fohr, agrees that Instagram is not a platform we own or have control over, and that every influencer needs at least a blog or a mailing list that they own as their main way of keeping in touch with their customers.
And while the rapid change has stumped developers, many are adamant that they will be able to create something that works around the new changes.
Stef Lewandowski, owner of Makelight insights – an app that showed Insatgram creatives which colour palettes on their photos got the most engagement – told Business Insider that while it’s “particularly disappointing that Instagram – which initially told developers it would make these changes in July – implemented them immediately without warning,” he acknowledges that “We as the developers have to work with the expectations of users, and if the zeitgeist has shifted to privacy and transparency, that’s how we have to conduct ourselves.”
