The noteworthy online photo-sharing site Instagram has updated its privacy policy, which now gives it the right to sell user’s photos to advertisers.  Users will get no notification if their photos have been sold to an advertiser. These changes also mean that Instagram can share this information with Facebook and any other affiliations it may have in the future. Those who don’t agree with this seemingly blatant breach in security have the option to delete their instagram accounts by no later than January 16^th. Anyone that doesn’t do so will be unable to opt out.

This abrupt change in privacy policy has sparked uproar throughout Instagram’s community, as well as other media sharing sites like Photobucket.com.  It has even been referred to as a “suicide note” to some people. A lot of users are threatening to quit using the service while others have already done so.

“Good bye #instagram. Your new terms of service are totally stupid and nonsense. Good luck playing with the big boys.”

A notice updating the privacy policy on the Instagram site said:

 ”We may share your information as well as information from tools like cookies, log files, and device identifiers and location data with organisations that help us provide the service to you… (and) third-party advertising partners.”

“To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you,” it said in its terms of use.

“This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used,” it said in a statement.

This is a risky move for Instagram and Facebook alike. A move such as this could blow a hole in Facebook’s reputation and reduce its overall traffic.

Alan Pez-Sharpe adds that it’s a bold move that will face “many challenges, both legally and ethically.” He also makes mention of Facebook’s privacy policy changes in the past, and how angry people have gotten over them. The backlash caused by previous attempts has forced Facebook to retreat to their previous policies. It’s very possible that Instagram will be unsuccessful as well, and will have to revert back to previous terms. I don’t personally use Instagram, but I know people that do, and I know it’s definitely not right ethically to share people’s photos without their consent.