Instagram's Terms of Use are the agreement between you and Meta Platforms, Inc. that you accept by using Instagram. In short: you must be at least 13, you keep ownership of what you post but give Instagram a licence to use it, and Instagram can remove content or disable accounts that break its rules.
People search for the Instagram TOS for very different reasons: a removed post, a username question, worry about who owns their photos. Below is each section summarised in plain English from the Terms published on Instagram's Help Center. It's a summary to help you find the right part, not legal advice, and the Terms themselves are the version that counts.
The Instagram Terms of Use at a glance
| Section | What it covers | The line to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Instagram Service | What Instagram promises to provide | Instagram uses technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning across the Service |
| 2. How the Service is funded | Why Instagram is free | You see ads instead of paying, and Instagram says it doesn't sell your personal data |
| 3. The Privacy Policy | How your information is used | You must agree to the Privacy Policy to use Instagram |
| 4. Your commitments | Who can use it and what you can't do | At least 13, accurate information, no buying or selling accounts |
| 5. Additional rights Instagram keeps | Usernames and Instagram's own content | Instagram may change a username that infringes or impersonates |
| 6. Content removal and disabling accounts | When content or accounts go | Some content isn't deleted within 90 days of deletion starting |
| 7. Disagreements | Liability and disputes | Consumers can bring claims in the courts of their own country |
| 8. Updating these Terms | Changes to the Terms | Instagram says it will notify you before changes take effect, unless the law requires otherwise |
Who can use Instagram
Section 4.1 sets the entry rules. You must be at least 13 years old or the minimum legal age in your country. You can't use Instagram if you're barred from receiving the Service under applicable laws, if Instagram has previously disabled your account for violating the law or its policies, or if you're a convicted sex offender.
What you can't do on Instagram
Section 4.2 is the list most people are looking for. In Instagram's words, you can't:
- impersonate others or provide inaccurate information, and you can't create an account for someone else without their express permission
- do anything unlawful, misleading or fraudulent, or for an illegal or unauthorised purpose
- break the Terms or Instagram's policies, including the Community Standards and Music Guidelines
- interfere with how the Service works, which includes making fraudulent or groundless reports or appeals
- create accounts or collect information in automated ways without permission
- sell, license or buy any account or data from the Service, including buying, selling or transferring your username
- post someone else's private or confidential information without permission, or infringe intellectual property rights
- use a domain name or URL in your username without prior written consent
Two of these surprise people. Buying or selling an account, or even a username, is against the Terms. And the reporting line means abusing Instagram's report or appeal buttons is itself a breach. For how the Community Standards side works in practice, see my guide to Instagram's Community Guidelines.
Who owns your photos and videos
This is section 4.3 and it's clearer than most people expect. Instagram says it does not claim ownership of your content, and you're free to share it anywhere. But to run the Service you grant Instagram "a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license" to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate and create derivative works of your content, consistent with your privacy and application settings. That licence ends when your content is deleted from Instagram's systems.
The same section gives Instagram permission to show your username, profile picture and your actions, such as likes and follows, next to accounts, ads and promoted content you engage with, without paying you. It also says you agree Instagram can download and install updates to the Service on your device. If you want to know what you can post that belongs to someone else, my page on Instagram copyright rules covers it.
When Instagram can remove content or disable your account
Section 6 says Instagram can remove content or information that it believes violates the Terms or its policies, including the Community Standards, or where the law permits or requires it. It works with independent fact-checkers in many places, and may add a notice to content they've rated.
The deletion detail is the one worth knowing: content won't be deleted within 90 days of an account or content deletion starting in some situations, for example where others have used it under the licence and haven't deleted it, where technical limits get in the way, or where Instagram needs it to investigate misuse, keep users safe or meet a legal obligation. If your account has been disabled and you think it's a mistake, see how to appeal an Instagram ban.
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Liability and disputes
- As is. Instagram says the Service is provided "as is" and it can't guarantee it will be safe and secure or work perfectly all the time.
- Other people's behaviour. Instagram says it isn't responsible for what other people do or say, online or offline.
- Limits. It limits its liability as much as the law allows, including for lost profits, revenues, information or data.
- Where you can bring a claim. If you're a consumer, the laws of the country you live in apply and you can bring a claim in a competent court there. In all other cases, claims go to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court in San Mateo County, under California law.
How Instagram changes its Terms
Section 8 says Instagram may change the Terms to reflect its Service and policies. Unless the law requires otherwise, it will notify you, for example through the Service, before changes take effect and give you a chance to review them. Keep using Instagram after that and you're bound by the updated Terms. If you don't agree, the Terms point you to deleting your account.
My verdict
You don't need to read every clause, but three are worth knowing if you use Instagram for business: you keep ownership of your content while granting a wide licence, buying or selling accounts and usernames is banned, and a URL in your username needs Instagram's written consent. If a post or account problem brought you here, the Community Guidelines usually explain the decision faster than the Terms do.
Frequently asked questions
What are Instagram's Terms of Use?
They're the agreement between you and Meta Platforms, Inc. that governs your access to and use of Instagram. You accept them by using Instagram.
Does Instagram own my photos?
No. Instagram says it does not claim ownership of your content, but you grant it a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use it, which ends when the content is deleted from its systems.
How old do you have to be under Instagram's terms?
You must be at least 13 years old or the minimum legal age in your country.
Can you sell an Instagram account?
No. The Terms say you can't sell, license or buy any account or data, including buying, selling or transferring your username.
Does Instagram tell you when the terms change?
Instagram says that, unless the law requires otherwise, it will notify you before changes take effect and give you an opportunity to review them.
