
Tap on the “ Security” option to proceed. There are lots and lots of features and options to distract you (like the “Close Friends” feature, worth checking out), but tap on “ Settings” to proceed.Īt this point you might logically choose “ Privacy” or even “ Account” but the feature you seek is in “ Security“… This brings up the main account menu for Instagram, which offers the following options: You’ll end up here:Ī fair number of different things to explore, but for this task, tap on the so-called hamburger menu on the top right.

Make sure you have the latest version of Instagram on your mobile, then tap on your tiny profile pic on the lower right of the main window. HOW TO REQUEST AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT BACKUP Let’s go through the process on the Instagram for Mobile app – the iPhone version – and then I’ll give you a peek at the resultant archive. The trick is that it’s in the security section of the program, not in privacy or any other more logical spot. Instagram offers just such a feature, though it’s not so easy to find in the app. Fortunately, that’s all improved with the GDPR requirement that people be able to download a copy of their full network history.


Okay, maybe a bit dramatic, but until the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR) in the EU, most social networks were a one-way tool: You could add content, but you couldn’t ever get a copy of it again. While Instagram isn’t quite as much a walled garden as it used to be, it’s still mostly managed as if it’s a separate little world that you visit, but can never leave.
