So I got the message from instagram about either paying or using it free (at the cost personalised ads) just now.
Doesn’t this go against the GDPR? Either way, is there a FOSS alternative for instagram like piped is to youtube? It seems like a good opportunity to stop using the official app, even though it would be better to not use instagram at all (sadly not an option for me right now).
Any suggestions, and if so, are there any that provide functionality for: stories, posts, dms? Those are the 3 things I use instagram for.
Many thanks!
Edit: For messaging I do use beeper, though some media like carousels and posts sent to my dms cant be shown in there, so for those cases I open the official app.
Edit 2: many people have suggested pixelfed. Ive heard of it, and want to use it, but unfortunately the only reason Im still sticking with instagram is because I have very dear friends who would never change to anything non-mainstream. Theyre important enough that im willing to not delete it just yet, but I dont want to agree to either pay or pay with my data.
What im looking for is more like a piped for youtube, thing. So a frintend that has instagram content/features, but isnt the main app and avoids the problems I listed above
Edit 3: I ended up installing the site as a PWA on my phone as thats the only device I use it on, and uninstalled the official app. Thanks to everyone for all your input!
Should have posted that chain-text to my Facebook wall years ago so my profile would be blue and safe…
Please forgive me,… I failed you all… 😭
I swear these specific copypastas are started by grad school sociology students for their thesis research or something.
Those, and the copypastas that end with “I want to see who’s brave/caring/proud enough to repost.”
Lmao completely forgot about that
The fact that the ad revenue button is more emphasized and easier to press (closer to screen edge) says a lot about the value of you being their product vs. you simply paying them for access.
You need to make a choice, Mr Anderson…
Loving the username and matrix reference :)
Im reading 1984 right now, i like it so far.
It’s good, and after that, check out Brave New World which is similar to what we have now. :)
And Fahrenheit 451, another classic
It’s so interesting because realistically we’re a hybrid of both but damn did they both have a good whack at hitting the nail on the head.
Either way it’s a sad reflection of the world we now live in, all self anesthesized and false truths.
“Your info won’t be used for ads”
But we’ll still be tracking everything you do and selling that on to everyone who wants it.
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That said “will” not “won’t” FYI.Ah I’m dumb ignore me.
13€? Are they insane? If I were to use the platform I’d be willing to pay 3€ at most. 13€ is just ridiculous.
It’s on purpose. They know most people won’t pay, so now it’s carte blanche to their data. And if somebody’s desperate enough, they’ll pay 13€ and meta will make more money on the user than with ads.
They will collect and sell your data either way. They just won’t force ads down your throat if you pay them. This is what billionaires have done to our beloved internet.
Per account! I have 2 on Instagram an done on FB. They offered an intro price for €10 that would go up to €19 on may 1st. I believe it is because one of my accounts is linked across IG and FB so they count as one… 🤷 lucky me! At this moment I have uninstalled and waiting to see how EU reacts to the “choice options”. Its more like a forced option really
The call to action button is the free plan, with subscribe having a secondary button style. That alone makes it clear they want to show you ads more than they want you to subscribe.
FOSS alternative is PixelFed
Pixelfed for true alternative PWA works Instander exists
The sane choice would be to leave.
I setup my own pixelfed instance to share pictures of my kids and family. I own and control all the data on my server and no one gets to monetize pictures of my children.
Not many of my family members are on there but I still prefer it to Instagram
Wait, so it’s either targeted ads or pay? Damn… Silly me thinking if you don’t pay you still could opt out of targeted ads.
But yeah, isn’t this against GDPR?
You can still use Instagram on your browser, without being shown the banner. Works for me with Firefox on Android.
If you do decide to opt for the subscription (I hope you don’t) do it from your desktop browser since it costs 10€ instead of 12.99€. I haven’t tried it myself, but that’s what I read on a German website.
I still need to use the app to stay in touch with some friends and to get updates from smaller organizations that do not have a Web presence or newsletter.
I uninstalled Instagram when I was shown the banner. Not out of principle but I simply don’t know which action would send the right signal. By continuing to use the app for free I would be sending the signal that I do not care about my privacy.
So do I pay for the subscription? I read somewhere elsewhere Meta makes more than that off me using targeted ads. So by subscribing do i still get to use the service and they make less money off me? There’s no guarantee they honor the no tracking even if I pay.
So I’ve just uninstalled the app for now.
The fact is, they didn’t say they won’t collect data on you, they just won’t use it for ads
Exactly. Best to uninstall and deactivate and stop using it.
from your desktop browser since it costs 10€ instead of 12.99€
Are there any VPN shenanigans one could try to make it cheaper?
Thanks for this reply. Ive installed the site as a PWA and uninstalled the official app. Theres no way I’m either paying or giving them consent for personalised ads.
€12.99/mo. sounds wildly overpriced to me in comparison to 1) cost to serve and 2) ad revenue. I’m not an ad revenue expert, but I have a hard time believing they make anywhere near €13/user/mo. from advertisers.
My god I just glanced quickly and thought it was 2.99. Asking 12.99 is an absolute joke.
Meta makes their ARPU readily available to the public, so you really don’t have to guess in this regard: https://www.statista.com/statistics/251328/facebooks-average-revenue-per-user-by-region/
Last quarter posted there, it was $19.04 for European users, or €17.84 with today’s exchange rate.
Those appear to be per-quarter numbers, and if so that would mean ~€5.95/month.
Looks like they report ARPU on a quarterly basis, yes.
Before I suggest this, I’m not 100% how private and secure this is, but AeroInsta doesn’t show any ads and promises not to send cookies and any of your data across.
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