
Instagram now forces people to sign in to view public profiles - p15suvanshb
https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2019/10/28/instagram-now-forces-people-to-sign-in-to-view-public-profiles/
======
twic
> “This is to help people see photos on Instagram and then understand how to
> get the best Instagram experience by being part of the community, connecting
> and interacting with the people and things they love,” the company told
> Adweek.

Why would you _say_ something like this? And why, as a journalist, would you
_report_ it? It's a transparent lie; nobody is going to be taken in by it. So
why bother even saying it?

~~~
Reedx
I've been wondering about this in regards to how CA is reframing "rolling
blackouts" as "de-energization areas".

It seems so blatantly ridiculous, and I feel like it does more harm than good,
but they must have reason to think otherwise?

~~~
RandallBrown
Isn't it the reasoning behind the blackouts? I thought rolling blackouts were
typically due to not having enough power generation. What's happening now is
related to preventing fires isn't it?

~~~
papln
"de-energization" doesn't say anything about the reason either. Using overly-
formal worlds is PR spin tactic to suppress the connotation of the common
term, and psedo-justify the action by connoting scientific credibility.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_blackout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_blackout)

~~~
selectodude
PG&E has been pretty clear about the fact that their unlimited financial
exposure to fire damage is the core cause of these blackouts. Rolling
blackouts implies some sort of issue with power generation, which isn’t the
actual cause.

------
sschueller
Support the federated alternative that is being built based on the same
technology (ActivityPub) as Mastodon and Peertube.

[1] [https://pixelfed.org/](https://pixelfed.org/)

[2]
[https://github.com/pixelfed/pixelfed](https://github.com/pixelfed/pixelfed)

~~~
JoshTriplett
Every time federation comes up, I always ask where the bridges are that allow
"following" people on the non-federated sites (e.g. Twitter), and the answer
is always vague and non-specific, suggesting that such bridges exist without
any information about using them.

I'd love to see a switching guide for, say, Twitter, that specifically says
"here's how to transparently follow people on Twitter, and here's how to have
your posts show up on your old Twitter account". Or similarly, if you're
switching from Instagram, how do you follow folks from Instagram and
automatically post to Instagram?

~~~
cyborgx7
There is no bridge. I highly doubt the Twitter API TOS would even allow it.
What you can do is get a client that supports both Mastodon as well as
Twitter. I recommend Twidere on Android.

[https://f-droid.org/de/packages/org.mariotaku.twidere/](https://f-droid.org/de/packages/org.mariotaku.twidere/)

~~~
ClearAndPresent
There sort of is although I don't know why anyone would want it.

[https://github.com/renatolond/mastodon-twitter-
poster](https://github.com/renatolond/mastodon-twitter-poster)

~~~
cyborgx7
I actually have my twitter and mastodon accounts linked with this, but I
assume a bridge like the other commenter requested would allow to follow any
twitter acount from your Mastodon account.

~~~
ClearAndPresent
Ah yes. You're right, certainly would be stopped by Twitter even if
technically possible.

------
byuu
They also use meta robots=noimageindex,noarchive on every page without an opt-
out which is so _incredibly_ stupid and walled-gardeny for an image sharing
site. I wanted to use Flickr instead but nobody else uses Flickr, then I tried
making my own image gallery and I learned that browsers do not honor the JPEG
rotation EXIF data and I don't want to write my own rotation/cropping code
(that and Google completely ignores it), so now I'm trying Pinterest, but that
one also wants you to log in to view full images.

Kind of silly I can't find a good image sharing site in 2019.

~~~
mattkevan
Now that Instagram has been totally Facebooked, I feel there’s a real gap in
the market for what Instagram used to be.

Just want something simple where I can upload some photos, do a bit of light
editing, apply a nice filter and share with friends. And also see a
chronological timeline of stuff they’ve posted.

No likes, no engagement metrics, no personalisation, no skinner-boxing, no
influencers.

Well aware this makes me sound old - and this hypothetical service will never
make unicorn money. But I’d use it in a flash.

~~~
stevewodil
So VSCO?

~~~
deltron3030
Tying it to smartphones and camera apps sucks.

~~~
arsenico
It is not tied to camera apps - you can just upload any image you have in the
gallery. Also, you can upload from the web

~~~
deltron3030
Ah ok, is this new? For some reason I've had the impression that it was only
usable on mobile, now I wonder why.

------
lpellis
Instagram also shut down their public api last year and are deprecating the
graph api in a week. (5 Nov) [https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-
api/](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/)

The new api has no access to consumer (non-Business or non-Creator) instagram
accounts.

~~~
forgotmyhnacc
If Facebook offers a public API, people will complain that Facebook hasn't
learned their lesson from Cambridge analytica. If they don't, then they're
accused of having a walled garden. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

~~~
dmix
I thought Cambridge Analytica had access to far more data than was available
on the public API which is what made it so controversial?

~~~
ArtDev
Yes, that was precisely the issue.

------
asquabventured
uBlock Origin `uBlock Filters - Annoyances` filter list (Not subscribed in a
default setting) has a filter[1] already to override this dark pattern.

[1]
[https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/commit/05a3fea080d06...](https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/commit/05a3fea080d06d4f06d1dae729f2f4aa3d0af0c7)

~~~
24gttghh
Is that in the "anti-facebook list"?

~~~
asquabventured
> Is that in the "anti-facebook list"?

I have no idea if it is in that filter list or not as I don't use it but if
you want to add the 'uBlock filters - Annoyances' list to your uBO setup
follow steps below.

1\. Open 'uBO Settings'

2\. From within the uBlock Origin Dashboard, Navigate to 'Filter lists' tab
(should be second tab)

3\. Expand the 'Built-in' filter list options by clicking the '+' button next
to 'Built-in'

4\. Check the option for 'uBlock filters - Annoyances'

5\. Hit 'Apply changes' button in top right corner

------
3stripe
This has been causing me a fair bit of inconvenience at work as I quit
Instagram last year (decided it was toxic) but still need to research
people/trends in my design job.

Guess I'll have to create a fake profile, which in a way will have the
opposite of their intended "join the community" action point.

~~~
BlueGh0st
Goodluck with that. They ask for government issued photo ID in many cases for
new accounts.

~~~
mkj
My instagram login made last week with a nonexistent email domain seems to
work fine. Who cares if they ban it eventually!

~~~
rchaud
I'm going to try this. I foolishly created an account w/ my FB login back in
2012, and although I rarely use it now compared to a couple of years ago, I
would like to use it without it being tied to my personal email.

------
est31
This is a new change? It's been like that for me ever since I knew of
Instagram. You browse two or three images and plop you get a sign up screen.

~~~
hdra
I don't know if theres been any recent change, but not too long ago, login is
only required to view Instagram stories. Then they changed it to block
location-tagged postings too. Which is a bummer, since I liked to use the
webbrowser to browse location-tagged Instagram posts to discover places to eat
at. I haven't used it much since, not sure if they added additional
restrictions for non-signed-up users recently.

~~~
landcoctos
> _Then they changed it to block location-tagged postings too. Which is a
> bummer_

Yes this was a bummer too. I used it all the time. Now I use hashtags which
aren't as effective and I'm sure they'll shut that down too. O well, nothing
useful really lost.

------
cs702
So now those profiles are _not really public_ anymore.

They are available only to members now. Walled-off.

This action works directly _against_ the best interests of Instagram users
seeking to maximize their audience and reach.

Let's call this what it is: an anti-feature.

~~~
lifestyleguru
Exactly, these profiles are not public anymore (in the common sense meaning of
"public profile"). BTW LinkedIn and others are doing the same, and what anyone
is going to do about it?

~~~
postalrat
The fun part is they are still public if you are the google bot.

Open an incognito window and try going to a linkedin profile. Then try it with
google translate:
[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=af&tl=en&u=htt...](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=af&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fchristopher-
conklin-42772938)

Odds are good you can still view the profile through translate because
linkedin thinks you are google.

LinkedIn, Pinterest and others want to be indexed by google, but don't want
the content that's indexed to be public. Google is ruining their own service
by allowing this to continue.

~~~
frittig
I have a user agent switcher add-on and many times I just have it spoof my
user agent to be Google bot. the internet suddenly works as it is supposed to

~~~
postalrat
I've tried switching user agent with LinkedIn and LinkedIn still hides the
profile. I think they may be looking at the IP addresses that Google uses.

------
cousin_it
How accurate is the belief that logged-in eyeballs are profitable, but logged-
out ones aren't?

~~~
altacc
You can still be tracked & advertised to if you're not logged in, but once you
have an account it's easier to build up your marketing profile and show "more
relevant" adverts & sponsored content, which drives the larger advertising
revenue.

~~~
dmix
This reduces the amount of total eyeballs though... potentially by a
significant amount. For ex anyone sharing a picture on Twitter or FB will only
be able to show it to their followers with Instagram accounts.

------
bluesign
This looks like a result of linkedin scraping case. Although I hate walled
gardens, in the age of facial recognition etc, I hate some random scraper have
my photos more.

~~~
HNLurker2
Yes and those annoying Instagram scrapping copy websites which just make a
copy of Instagram

------
lifestyleguru
Pinterest did this as well. I also noticed they started to aggressively stick
ads in the main feed of their mobile app around two weeks ago - like each
third post. Instant uninstall.

------
annadane
And so yet another thing Facebook touches turns into garbage. This is from the
same company that promises transparency... yet buys up their competition and
does this (and shares data between Whatsapp and FB). They really have no moral
compass, do they? Name the engineer or product manager who did this. Name and
shame.

------
neximo64
Its odd how it seems Instagram is now the biggest part of Facebook and Tiktok
seems to be more polished and Instagram lagging behind, even more so with
this.

------
jzl
Hmm ... very pinteresting news.

------
mikestew
I don’t use Instagram. I’m sure I’ve _seen_ Instagram pages, but I’ve never
had a reason to create an account. But if they let me see pages, maybe someday
I’ll see the need for myself.

A hair stylist I went to recently has an Instagram page. She did a great job,
I’ll go bookmark her page in case I forget who she is. And that’s when I am
met with a login page. Well, guess who now stands no chance of _ever_ having
an Instagram account? They might wear me down if enough friends send links
that I click. “Hey, ya know, this looks kinda handy.” Now it’s all over a wall
I don’t feel like climbing. Which is fine. I’m not mad, or much of anything,
frankly. It’s another “service” I don’t have to waste time on.

But, boy, it strikes me as a strange way to pursue growth.

~~~
rchaud
IG is only a growth platform if you are selling something that's not
restricted to your local area, like a hair salon is. Otherwise it is a brand-
building platform. Got a lot of followers? Start messaging companies offering
to hawk their products in your feed.

------
lprd
Their new 'facebook' API is almost an impossible option now for personal use.
Their previous API was much more pleasant to work with. IMO a 'personal use
only' account type with a limited data scope would be a great option to have.
Thus far, I can't get my 'app' authorized for personal use despite it being
only for a page on my blog. I've given up trying to use their API. I'd like to
just scrape my photos now but I'm not sure if even that's a possibility.

[https://twitter.com/jonlprd/status/1184547466244448257](https://twitter.com/jonlprd/status/1184547466244448257)

------
kpennell
Odd, private firefox search and opened
[https://www.instagram.com/kimkardashian/](https://www.instagram.com/kimkardashian/)
just fine. I know, dumb example.

~~~
reportgunner
Yes, same here.

Try scrolling down a fair bit and you will see it. (happened to me on second
"loading" of the next "page" of pictures)

~~~
HenryBemis
Yes, after scrolling 2-3 pages down the message appears. It won't go away. The
only way to bypass (on a PC) it is stop scrolling right before the message
pops-up, click on an image and then click on the right-arrow to move to the
next/older photo. You can see all photos like this (and vids etc.) just fine,
as long as you don't scroll down any more. You game the system by moving
"horizontally".

------
nefasti
Good luck. I temporarily disabled my Instagram account and can’t recover it.
The process is supposed to be just login again, but it hangs because I had two
factor Authentication enabled. My account is now in a limbo. There is no
proper support channel for this problem. And the form they provid for help on
the app just give an “invalid parameters” when trying to submit, but the funny
part is it’s hidden behind the iPhone X notch, only found the error because I
took a screenshot. Instagram always been like this? or is this sign of
Facebook tighter grip on it?

------
raverbashing
As much as I find this revolting, I just tried with a page in a browser I'm
not logged in to anything fb and it still worked.

So maybe it's still being rolled out or limited to some profiles?

~~~
SyneRyder
When it happened to me, it was only after I scrolled down a couple of screens
after clicking on a few images. The first screen or two of images were still
publicly viewable.

------
Mc_Big_G
Easy solution. Don't use Instagram or any other Facebook product for that
matter, assuming you care about privacy, truth in advertising, election
interference, etc...

------
sdan
This happened to me recently as well... but it's not surprising(given FB's
actions with their subsidiary apps)

Good thing I deleted anything Facebook related a while back.

------
kotrunga
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Instagram is owned by Facebook... why
would they do anything for the sole benefit of users?

------
TheChaplain
My guess is that it's to put up an obstacle against crawlers and perhaps also
lower the cost of outbound traffic?

~~~
Freak_NL
More likely it is to be able to create more complete visitor profiles and
provide more value to advertisers.

~~~
dwd
It's one step as they gradually move Instagram to a place where they can
effectively monetise everything, rather than it being open and free.

I think where they're heading is to monetise reach, so for anyone posting they
will have to boost the post for it to go out to N number of potential user
feeds based on how much they pay, same as with Facebook.

------
landcoctos
They started locking down other areas a few months ago. I used to browse
public pictures using "locations" which was one of the first items to require
a login. Frustrating but I just use the service less. And no, I will not
create a login.

------
ekianjo
So they became the new pinterest?

~~~
altacc
I've never worked out how to use pinterest. It's one of those "successes" that
I personally fail to see any value in. If I'm searching for something and I
land on pinterest it's like hitting a dead end. I can get nothing useful from
it and immediately go back and look elsewhere.

~~~
Tepix
It works well when you're logged in and use the iPad app.

------
alexghooper
Legally google will refuse to index these public pages then as it violates
their TOS.

------
sschueller
Offtopic question.

All Instagram images and videos appear to be hosted a publicly accessible
storage even those of private profiles. You just need to know the URL.

Is this security by obscurity really enough?

~~~
filleokus
I would say so, the URLs are pretty darn long:

[https://scontent-
arn2-2.cdninstagram.com/vp/5932ec6f480e416a...](https://scontent-
arn2-2.cdninstagram.com/vp/5932ec6f480e416adb482afdbfebe189/5E47AF82/t51.2885-15/e35/74665255_2283263248631663_6646495081169154079_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-
arn2-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=111)

It's not obvious how likely it is to guess a valid URL, but even if it's just
the first path, its still 128 bits (assuming a hexadecimal alphabet).
According to [0] there are 50+ billion photos uploaded to Instagram. Even if
we assume 10 000 billion posts (200x margin), 10^13 is a very small number in
comparison to 2^128≈3.4*10^38,

[0]: [https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-
statistics/](https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-statistics/)

(In the the URL above I've changed one character, yielding it invalid, leaving
it as an exercise for the reader to figure the missing one out.)

------
hideoto
BugMeNot to the rescue.

~~~
thih9
In 2019, with IP geolocation combined with mobile or email verification,
BugMeNot no longer seems that useful.

At the moment its instagram.com logins have 35% or lower success rate.

------
Grue3
Hopefully everyone moves back to Tumblr. Instagram is just terrible experience
all around.

~~~
pmlnr
Tumblr, that still has the full page interstitial of "we value your privacy"
EVEN ON RSS FEEDS, despite Automattic bought it from Oath? Yeah, right.

------
2OEH8eoCRo0
Just deleted my Instagram.

------
pjc50
I wonder if this is somehow related to the "Wagatha Christie" scandal
involving Colleen Rooney finding out who was leaking her private Instagram
stories to a hostile press.

------
icedchai
You can just use a fake account.

------
cartercole
then their user bases blooms as all the bots are registered to keep crawling

------
jkoberg
> Are you used to browsing Instagram without signing in to check out what your
> favorite brands are sharing?

LOL, no.

------
RocketSyntax
It doesn't force anyone to do anything.

~~~
tantalor
I don't think people are confused by this word choice, but to your point
_requires_ or _mandates_ might be better.

------
godzillabrennus
If it’s free you are the product.

Not sure why people still don’t understand that.

~~~
rahidz
It's too trite and has too many exceptions on both the free side (Linux,
Wikipedia, heck, Hacker News) and the non-free (plenty of popular sites and
apps that track you out the wazoo even when you do pay).

~~~
pmlnr
Linux - not a service

Wikipedia - community backed

Hacker News - we are the product. It's an ad space for ycombinator.

~~~
SamBam
This sounds like "no true Scotsman." What part of "it" in the saying "If it's
not free..." implies that the saying is not applicable to software or
community-backed websites?

Surely the saying absolutely applies to free mobile games, free raffles at a
car dealership, or free loyalty cards in stores. So it's not specific to
"services."

------
hugh4life
"The photo-sharing social network has begun locking down its platform by
preventing signed-out users from having unlimited access to public profiles.As
a result, you’ll now be prompted to either sign up or login after viewing a
handful of photos and posts via mobile or desktop web. Worse, there’s no
getting around it."

I don't like the change, but it's about 36 photos which is quite reasonable.

