Beginner

A lot of third-party apps ask you to get access to your Instagram data. This is the case with social media managing apps for example. The more apps have private information on you, the more likely it is that information can be misused. So it is important to make sure that you only allow Instagram

Even with the tightest privacy settings it's important to acknowledge that the way you and others use the app can still be compromising in terms of sensitive data being shared. In addition to in-app settings there's a few good practices that you should keep in mind:

• Let people know that you

We suggest using Two-Factor authentication, as it provides an extra security step in order to access your account. This way, besides asking for your username and password, Instagram will verify your identity by sending a unique code to your device.

This can be done using an authentication app or by

Blocking someone on Instagram will make them unable to find your profile, stories and posts. When you block someone, they do not get a notification about your action. Blocking someone means you will stop getting notifications from that person. You cannot follow an account you have blocked. Keep in

This is the first step in improving your privacy on Instagram. When you first create your account, it is set as "public" by default, meaning anybody can find it and see what you share.

Making your account private lets you share your content with a select group of people that you care about. Anyone

Twitter plays an increasingly important role as a space facilitating democratic engagement, debate and dissent. However, Twitter's track record in relation to protecting people's data has in some instances fallen short of expectations. In August 2019, for example, Twitter revealed that it had shared

Like other tech platforms, TikTok (which is owned by ByteDance) makes most of its money from advertising. TikTok allows advertisers to target ads on the basis of custom or lookalike audiences, namely targeting users on the basis of pre-defined characteristics.

The screenshots below outline some of

See the below screenshots to learn how to reduce targeted ads on Instagram.

Generally though, it’s tough to minimise targeted ads on phones because ads can be delivered based on data from the device level (such as what operating system your phone is using or based on unique numbers that identify

Facebook has been in the news over the past few years for failing to protect users’ data (here are some examples). Facebook can be an important tool in facilitating democracy and provides the potential to spread messages and ideas around the globe. For these reasons, it’s not possible for some

Google dominates online search. The company also owns YouTube and Android, with the latter reportedly making up nearly 75% of the global smart phone market share. PI has written about the numerous problems that come from corporate concentration and the use of data by monopolistic companies, and