Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom responds to concerns over new privacy policy

A change in the privacy policy of Facebook’s Instagram has led to worldwide protests. According to the new policy, photos shared via Instagram can be used in advertisements by the company, parent-company Facebook and their advertising partners without consent of as well as any payments to the owners of those photos.

Jeremy Pinnix, a 40-year-old app developer, had used Instagram since its arrival in 2010 to take pictures of his family, friends, sceneries and moments, but as soon as the policy changed, he got rid of his Instagram account and is happy with the decision.

“Many of the photos I take are of my wife and kids. The idea that those could be used in ads without my consent is disconcerting,” stated Jeremy Pinnix, according to a report by NYTimes.

The change in policy has led to similar reaction throughout the globe and the topic is being discussed over different social networks. Facebook decided to use Instagram to generate more cash, resulting in the change in policy. Co-founder of the service, Kevin Systrom, posted on his blog that the widespread complaints have been duly noted and he expects the company to react soon.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that many users are confused and upset about what the changes mean. I’m writing this today to let you know we’re listening and to commit to you that we will be doing more to answer your questions, fix any mistakes, and eliminate the confusion,” claimed Systrom.

There are some who believe that something of this sort was bound to happen. According to Eric Goldman, who works as an associate professor for the Santa Clara University School of Law, it has always been a battle between companies offering free services as to who first starts earning profit out of their free service. It eventually results in a friction, with either of the two parties being affected in the end.

“The interest of the site is never 100 percent aligned with the users, and the divergence inevitably leads to friction. It’s unavoidable,” said Mr. Goldman.

The changes were announced on Monday, with the site mentioning that all photos uploaded before January 16, when the new policy takes effect, will not be used for advertisements. People have already started moving their portfolios to other services, including Flickr, which started this service some years back. Flickr also chose just the right moment to introduce an appealing app for the iOS, which is being loved by all.

It remains to be seen whether Facebook remedies the problem or ends up losing valuable users to rivals, who still offer the service for free.