A new
California law forced
Instagram to hand over my data. It included thousands of messages and photos, but not everything
In the 10 days leading up to
Christmas this year, I searched on Instagram for three of my exes, an acquaintance I met on a trip to Cuba four years ago, an account dedicated to astrology memes, a past roommate, my own dog’s account (@lucythetherapypup), my best friend’s sweater-wearing poodle, a famous Pomeranian who lives in
New York, a bird named Parfait I recently met at a San Francisco market, 10 contestants of the reality TV show
Love Island, and the hashtag #wienerdog. I know all of this because Instagram told me.
That’s because this month, I submitted a data request under California’s new privacy law to see just how much information the company has on me. What I got was a wide-ranging look at how my life has changed in the last 10 years since I first logged on to Instagram, and a window into what the company is willing to share about what it knows about me.