Sources: Instagram has banned “preferred marketing partner” HYP3R, which scraped millions of posts per month, including Stories, and tracked users' locations
- A buzzy San Francisco startup has been secretly saving what appears to be millions of Instagram users' stories and tracking their locations.
Business Insider Rob Price
Related Coverage
- Instagram removes ad company after ‘data grab’ BBC
- Instagram ad partner secretly sucked up and tracked millions of users' locations and stories TechCrunch · Devin Coldewey
- Instagram bans ad partner for improperly collecting user data CNET · Steven Musil
- Instagram boots ad partner Hyp3r for mass collection of user data ZDNet · Charlie Osborne
- Trusted Marketing Partner of Instagram Caught Tracking Millions of Users Digital Information World · Zia Zaidi
- Instagram Boots Ad Partner HYP3R for Reportedly Scraping Huge Amounts of User Data Gizmodo · Tom McKay
- Shades of Cambridge Analytica: Instagram terminates partner collecting user data SiliconANGLE · Duncan Riley
- Instagram bans ad partner for secretly tracking user locations, saving Stories, more 9to5Mac · Chance Miller
- Facebook's Instagram boots ad partner, saying it improperly collected and stored info about users CNBC · Salvador Rodriguez
- Instagram removes ad partner that tracked millions of users' locations Engadget · Jon Fingas
- Instagram let a marketing company scrape users' location data because of course it did Mashable · Jack Morse
Discussion
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@robaeprice
Rob Price
on x
SCOOP: Enabled by Instagram's lax privacy protections, a buzzy startup has been tracking millions of Instagram users' locations, secretly saving their Stories, and openly flouting the social network's rules. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
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@robaeprice
Rob Price
on x
After I shared my findings with Instagram, it issued a cease & desist to HYP3R, kicked it off its platform, and made multiple changes to its platform to further lock down user data. HYP3R says it doesn't believe it broke the rules. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... https://twi…
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
In defense of Facebook, Inc, this is an important distinction from Cambridge Analytica case where we're still awaiting full answers -> “HYP3R did not access any non-public data from Instagram users who set their profiles' privacy settings to ‘private.’” https://www.businessinside…
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@ilvestoomas
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
on x
It never ends, does it? It never ends. From a GDPR point of view, though, does this company do this in the EU? If so, they should face a massive fine. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... via @businessinsider
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@wongmjane
Jane Manchun Wong
on x
I don't think it's their intention to provide “an easy way for developers to keep on collecting data, without any accountability” The technology used to “bundle up various bits of data into JSON package” is GraphQL, created at FB just so their apps could fetch data faster https:/…
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@robaeprice
Rob Price
on x
HYP3R's actions highlight how Facebook is still struggling to protect users' data and oversee developers accessing its platform, more than a year after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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@wongmjane
Jane Manchun Wong
on x
I think what's happening here is the data scraping exploits one of Instagram's server endpoint that wasn't rate-limited enough This is more like a security vulnerability. And what BI did is basically a responsible disclosure https://twitter.com/...
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@joelwinston
Joel Winston
on x
Millions of Instagram profiles, stories, & locations were scraped and saved by HYP3R. Instagram now says HYP3R was in clear violation of Its rules. But it all occurred under Instagram's nose for the past year by one of its “preferred marketing partners.” https://www.businessinsid…
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@lemberg
Mikael Lemberg
on x
Instagram cracks down on yet another company violating their policies by non-API based data scraping. https://twitter.com/...
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@uradn
@uradn
on x
A SF startup has been secretly saving millions of Instagram users stories & tracking their locations. Marketing firm HYP3R has been scraping huge of data off the Facebook-owned app & using it to build up detailed profiles of people's movements & interests. https://www.businessins…
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@willoremus
Will Oremus
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man, facebook is really going all-out with this campaign to make sure everyone knows it owns instagram https://twitter.com/...
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@luca
@luca
on x
Why researchers can't have nice things. https://twitter.com/...
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@robaeprice
Rob Price
on x
HYP3R “geofenced” hotels, stadiums, bars, restaurants, gyms, and hospitals around the world, then saved all public posts and Stories from them — building up intimate profiles of Instagram users' movements, habits, and the businesses they frequent. https://www.businessinsider.com/…
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@mattnavarra
Matt Navarra
on x
This is gonna go down like the shittiest of sandwiches with regulators, the media, ... everyone who wants to nail Facebook. http://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
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@alexeheath
Alex Heath
on x
What's especially remarkable about this is that the “data-scraping was a response to post-Cambridge Analytica changes” made by Facebook https://twitter.com/...
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@robaeprice
Rob Price
on x
Business Insider has found that marketing firm HYP3R has illicitly scraping Instagram data to build up detailed profiles about millions of people. Instagram failed to notice — and even lauded HYP3R as a “Marketing Partner.” https://twitter.com/...
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@ajs
Alyson Shontell
on x
Huge @robaeprice story: one year after Cambridge analytica, Instagram still has a big problem https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...