Your private Facebook and Instagram posts can be downloaded by ANYONE using simple web browser trick, researchers warn
INSTAGRAM and Facebook have a security flaw that allows people who don't follow you to see your private posts with just a few clicks of a mouse.
This is according to a new report that revealed how followers could easily share your private photos and videos publicly.
The flaw was revealed in a report by , which described it as a "stupidly simple work-around".
According to Buzzfeed, the 'hacking' method only requires a simple understanding of HTML and a browser.
All a user has to do is pull out the source URL for images on a page and then this URL can be shared with people who aren't logged in to the social network or who aren't followers of the private user.
This method also works on Instagram stories that are only supposed to last for 24 hours.
Source URLs also reveal some basic information about posts, such as how the photo or video was uploaded and its dimensions.
Tests have been carried out to prove that supposedly private JPEGS, MP4 files and stories can all be downloaded and shared publicly in this way.
However, a Facebook spokesperson told The Sun: "The behaviour described here is the same as taking a screenshot of a friend’s photo on Facebook and Instagram and sharing it with other people.
"It doesn’t give people access to a person’s private account."
Buzzfeed has said that the URL method was also able to retrieve images from Facebook severs even if the posts had been deleted.
This would make it different from simply taking a screenshot of an image.
URLs connected to Instagram Stories are also said to reveal images for a few days even though Story posts are only supposed to last for 24 hours.
We have reached out to Facebook for comment.
Instagram – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Instagram is a social network for sharing photos and videos
- It was created back in October 2010 as an iPhone-exclusive app
- A separate version for Android devices was released 18 months later
- The app rose to popularity thanks to its filters system, which lets you quickly edit your photos with cool effects
- When it first launched, users could only post square 1:1 ratio images, but that rule was changed in 2015
- In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1billion in cash and stock
- In 2018, some analysts believe the app is worth closer to $100billion
- In October 2015, Instagram confirmed that more than 40billion photos had been uploaded to the app
- And in 2018, Instagram revealed that more than a billion people were using the app every month
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Do you worry about your privacy on social media? Let us know in the comments...
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