Instagram now allows its users to download all their data if they want to leave the platform

Instagram has released a new data export feature allowing its users to download all their data from the platform.

This new feature is similar to the one that Facebook provides its users in case the user is planning to leave the platform and wants a copy of the data that they have posted on Facebook. The release of this new tool comes weeks after initial reports of Instagram working on the tool.

According to a report by Tech Crunch, Instagram users can access the ‘Data Download’ option by visiting the download request link or through the privacy settings in the Instagram app. The report points out that the platform allows users to download the images, videos, archived Stories, profile, account info, comments and direct messages.

The tool does state that Instagram will email user the download link to the file and it only works on one request from an account at a time. However, it could take few hours to days when it comes to generating the download file.

This new tool is essential for Instagram to comply with the data portability rule that European Union has added in the newly introduced GDPR privacy law which will come into effect on 25 May. This will make it easier for users planning to leave Instagram, to shift all the images and videos that they shared on the platform, to a new image sharing platform.

Instagram is not the only platform that announced a new data export tool. WhatsApp will launch a similar tool allowing its users to download account information including profile photo and names of the groups the user is part of, but the export tool will not allow exporting messages.