A new analysis of the Instagram app has suggested that every time a user clicks a link within the app, Instagram is capable of monitoring all of their interactions, text selections, and even text input, such as passwords and private credit card details within websites inside the app.

The analysis conducted by Felix Krause found that both Instagram and Facebook on iOS use their own in-app browser, rather than the one offered by Apple for third-party apps. Most apps use Apple's Safari for loading websites, but Instagram and Facebook have been using their own in-app browser to load websites within the app.

With their custom-built browser, still based on WebKit, Instagram and Facebook inject a tracking JavaScript code named "Meta Pixel" into all links and websites shown. This allows Instagram to monitor everything happening on external websites without the consent from the user, nor the website provider.

Fact is Meta/Facebook has really proven over the years that they are not going to stop this behaviour, and they will push all the boundaries to get as much as they can, without telling their users. What their users should understand from using these services for free, is that their metadata is worth really money to Meta/Facebook. Why I left both Instagram and WhatsApp, was because their walked back terms and conditions still allowed the sharing of user metadata back to Meta/Facebook. They are not going to stop doing this...

See https://www.macrumors.com/2022/08/10/instagram-tracking-users-in-app-browser/

#technology #Facebook#metadata #Instagram #privacy