• Two weeks ago, Instagram announced it would roll out a data download feature that would let users pull all content they published to the platform in a downloadable template.
  • Instagram confirmed to Business Insider that the feature is now available on the web only, with a steady rollout to Android and iPhone users in the works.
  • The move comes a month before the EU’s new GDPR privacy laws that will in part require tech companies to provide a way for consumers to download content from platforms.

Following Facebook’s implementation of a feature that lets users download their information in bulk, Instagram is rolling out a similar feature.

Originally reported by TechCrunch, Instagram announced this feature two weeks ago, but confirmed to Business Insider on Tuesday that the tool is available for users on the web for now through this link. Android and iPhone users won’t be able to use the feature in the app immediately, but will soon.

Here’s a look at what the Data Download tool looks like on the web:

Instagram screen shot data download

Foto: source Instagram/Business Insider

Your Instagram photos, videos, comments, past searches, direct messages, Stories in your archive and profile information will be available to export, but it may take up to 48 hours. The data will be sent to the email connected to your account in a file, in a Microsoft Excel, Web, Notes or Text format, that will be available through a link.

Instagram data download feature

Foto: source Instagram/Business Insider

Comments and likes on others' posts are included in the download, as is the username of those posts' owners which is public information.

Instagram's data download feature comes a month before the European Union implements its new privacy law, GDPR, which will require tech companies be more transparent with how they use European consumer data, regardless of where these companies are headquartered.

Another part of the law requires these companies provide users with the personal data they use on platforms in a downloadable document. That means the Data Download tool Instagram is rolling out to its users is a last-minute move to comply with the regulation, which takes effect on May 25.

Tech companies, specifically social networking sites, have been criticized for keeping users tethered to their platforms by not providing a way to download data en masse. This Data Download tool will make it easier for users to gather their data from Instagram in one fell swoop.

Before this tool, the only way to save content that users only published on Instagram was through the tedious task of going through each post in a user's archive and saving them to the camera roll. Instagram's Data Download tool will serve two purposes: It gives users a way out of the platform with all of their data in tow, but it also gives users who wish to stay an easy way of downloading content that they initially only published to Instagram.