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Your Privacy And Instagram: Here’s What You Need To Know

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Instagram was started back in late 2010 as an app simply to share photos that you loved with fun filters, making them look professional. Since then, the app has exploded in popularity and it didn’t take long until it was acquired by Facebook (now Meta). Because of the acquisition and the controversy surrounding the topic of privacy on the Meta platform, there have been plenty of people questioning if their information is secure on Instagram, as well. This is a valid question, and Instagram has its own privacy policy. However, Instagram’s main policy still falls under the Meta platform.

Meta says first and foremost in its privacy policy that they collect information from what you do on social media and share that information with potential advertisers that make them revenue. The information that’s collected from your Instagram profile includes all of your activity and the information in your bio section. They’ll also collect your friends list, who follows you and how many people you can connect with in just one post. 

What might be more concerning, though, is what Instagram collects when you’re not even using the app. Instagram tracks what else you’re doing on your phone, such as looking for certain articles of clothing or what restaurant you want to try out this weekend. They’re able to tell which device belongs to which person and can track where you are through GPS and know what IP address you’re using. Pretty much everything related to your phone is obtained by Instagram, and it’s all used to shape the type of advertisements that you get on a daily basis.

While it’s difficult to get Instagram and Meta to not obtain your information (which you consent to when signing up), you can still make your own profile private. When you set your profile to private (which is quick and easy to do), people will have to send you a request to follow your account. If you accept, people will be able to see your photographs and your extended bio, while those can only see your profile picture and Instagram name. 

You can also turn off comments for your Instagram posts and decide whether or not you want to share your posts directly to Facebook. There are many that want to keep the two as separate as possible, so it’s a nice feature to have. There’s several bells and whistles in terms of privacy that you can toy around with, but you’ll still have to adhere to the overall Meta platform privacy policy.

If you want to see specifically what data you’re sending to the Meta platform, there’s a way to do just that. Click on your profile picture and then the three lines (hamburger) tab. From there, you’ll be able to see your activity and account history. You can filter through this and remove what you don’t want to be there any longer. Instagram is also legally obliged to give you a copy of your data if you wish to have it downloaded to your computer. 

Just like any other social media platform, you have to be careful with what you post. Your data can be obtained by almost anyone for the right price. Still, Instagram has to follow laws so there isn’t really much to worry about. Protecting yourself from potentially harmful users and hacked accounts is the most important aspect of browsing Instagram.

5 Surprising Facts About Instagram

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Every day, there are millions of people taking photos and putting them on Instagram for their friends and other followers to see. Whether you’re at a sporting event, a public park, a restaurant or anywhere else, there’s a small need where you want to post your experience on Instagram. You might use Instagram on a daily basis, but there might be a lot that you don’t know about the social media giant. Here are some surprising facts about Instagram, some of which might blow your mind.

5. The Very First Post

There has been some debate as to what the first ever Instagram post was, and it’s not the one that some might think. Many attribute the first post to founder Kevin Systrom when he shared a photo of his dog at 9:24 PM on July 26, 2010. However, the first post actually came from Mike Krieger several hours earlier at 5:26 PM. The photo was that of the South Beach Harbor in San Francisco. As for his first photo, Systrom said “I think I would have tried a little harder” had he known how historic it would be.

4. The Most Followed

You might think that the most followed Instagram account comes from an individual, but it actually comes from Instagram itself with 535 million followers. After that, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed with 470 million while Kylie Jenner is the most followed woman and third overall account at 361 million. In terms of businesses after Instagram’s account, National Geographic and Nike are in the top 15 overall followers count.

3. Eggcellent Record

What do you think the most liked photo on Instagram would be? A celebrity with a massive following that announced a marriage or pregnancy? Some breaking news in the sports world? Nope, it’s actually from an account that has just one picture and it’s a brown egg with a white background. It’s called world_record_egg and was posted on January 4, 2019. Since then, the egg has amassed 56.14 million likes, which is over 23 million more than any other Instagram post.

2. Tremendous Growth

Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2012 and is now part of the Meta Platform. At the time, there were plenty of users but not quite at the level that it is right now. In September 2011, there were 10 million users. It would take nearly five years for that number to balloon to half a billion and in the summer of 2018, Instagram finally hit their massive milestone of 1 billion users and it remains in the top 10 visited websites on a daily basis.

1. The Most Common Foods

One of the stereotypes that has followed Instagram throughout the years is that it’s only used for taking pictures of food. You’ve probably seen the older crowd complain about youngsters taking photos of their meals trying to get the right one. It’s sort of validated, though, as food pictures make up a massive part of Instagram, although 40 percent of people admit they don’t actually eat the food they photograph. As for the most frequently snapped food, it’s pizza to nobody’s surprise. Sushi follows in at second place.

5 Surprising Facts About TikTok

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Almost overnight, many people outside of China went from not knowing what TikTok is to thinking “What is this Vine knockoff?” to fully embracing the app. It’s now the most popular on all of the internet, and some of us are still trying to learn how it works. If you’re one of those that’s late to the party, here are some facts about TikTok you may be surprised to learn.

5. Not Always TikTok

The TikTok that we all know today went through some naming changes early on, and it didn’t take long for things to catch on. ByteDance, a company in China, started TikTok as an app called A.me before changing to Douyin, all of which happened in the final few months of 2016. In 2017, the app changed names once again to TikTok. By the beginning of 2018, TikTok was already the top free app in countries around the world, showing just how fast certain things can catch on. The biggest boom came when the company merged with musical.ly to create interest in the Western Hemisphere.

4. The Record Holders

The title for most subscribed YouTuber has been a long and ever-changing one, but that’s not the case for TikTok. Due to it being a newer platform, only a handful of people have held that title. The first came in the form of Ariel Martin, or Baby Ariel as she’s known on TikTok. Up until April 2017, the now-actor was the most followed and was replaced by Lisa and Lena. Those two held the title for over 700 days and were then unseated by Loren Gray, who was then replaced by Charli D’Amelio and since June 2022 it has been Khaby Lame.

3. Time Spent on TikTok

TikTok is known for its super short videos, so you might think that the amount of time that people spend on there each day is minimal. However, one short video leads to another and before you know it, you’ve gone several hours deep down a rabbit hole. Because of this, people around the globe spend an average of 52 minutes per day on TikTok. It’s a little lower in the United States at 40 minutes per day (which is still behind YouTube at 45 minutes), but it’s shocking how fast it has grown and become a habit for many.

2. You Can Pay TikTokers

TikTok hopped on the bandwagon by creating its own platform exclusive currency a la Twitch with their bits. For TikTok, it’s called Coins and you can buy 70 of them for about $0.75 in the United States. Users can then cash out their Coins that they have been sent and put it into their bank account .The minimum for payout is $100, and even the biggest creators can only pull out $1,000 maximum per day in Coins.

1. Interesting Demographics

One of the first things that comes to mind with TikTok is the incredibly young audience. Many of the stars are still in their teenage years, and these people make up a quarter of all users. It might be surprising to know that there are plenty of older people that use TikTok, though. In fact, 11 percent of people on the app are over 50 years old, and people 30 and over make up over half of all users.

5 Surprising Facts About Facebook

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Where would the internet be today if it weren’t for Facebook? When you think of the biggest success stories in the internet’s fairly short history, the longest chapter likely belongs to Mark Zuckerberg (and others) and his invention of Facebook. The social media site has evolved into a multimedia giant and now employs tens of thousands of people and pulls in over nine figures in revenue. Think you know everything about Facebook, though? Here are some surprising facts you might not have known.

5. Exclusive Club (At First)

If you happened to be around 17 to 22 years old around the time Facebook got started, there’s a good chance that you were one of the first people to know about the site. That’s because upon launch, Facebook was only available to students of Harvard before branching out into the Ivy League and then the rest of North American colleges. You needed a college email address to sign up for Facebook, but it then eventually opened to the public in 2006 for better or worse, as long as you were 13 years old per the terms of service.

4. A Decade of Trading

It feels like it was just yesterday when it was announced that Facebook had its initial public offering (IPO) and went public. However, it was now more than a decade ago as the company was openly traded starting on May 18, 2012. The stock, which is now known as Meta Platforms Inc., has been the subject of many headlines ever since. After a sketchy start, Facebook stock climbed to a peak of over $380 per share. It has come back down since then due to the economy and recent changes, putting it around 2018 levels.

3. Finding a Date

While you have likely used Facebook’s marketplace feature to buy used video games, furniture, etc., you might not know that you can also find a date. In mid 2018, Facebook announced that there would be a dating feature on its app that allowed you pretty much the same service that was provided by giants Tinder and Bumble. The official launch for the service came in late 2019 without much ballyhoo and is still around to this day. Get ready to hear “We met on Facebook Dating” in at least one wedding down the road.

2. Leaving the ‘Is’

Early adopters of Facebook will remember when your status simply read “(Your name) is…” and then you filled out the rest. It was a unique feature that paved the way for many grammatical errors because you were handcuffed by what you could say. For example, “Mark Zuckerberg is Hey does anyone want to come over to my place later for the game?” In 2007, Facebook dropped the ‘is’ part of the status allowing you full freedom to post.

1. Metaverse of Madness

You’ve probably met at least one person that has said that they’re done with Facebook forever due to privacy policies, their feelings on Zuckerberg or anything in between. However, people that boycott Facebook might not know that they’re still supporting the company through the Meta platform that nearly 80 percent of all internet users take part in each day. Other platforms owned by Facebook include Instagram, Oculus, WhatsApp and Mapillary just to name a few.

5 Surprising Facts About Twitter

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Every day, hundreds of millions of people post hundreds of millions of tweets. Some are completely random and let people know what they had for breakfast, while others are breaking big news stories. Twitter, perhaps more than any other social media platform, has been polarizing and basically a battleground for political opinions. Things were more simple when it started all those years ago, so let’s take a dive through Twitter’s history and find some of the most surprising facts that you might not have known before.

5. The First Tweet is Old Enough to Drive

It’s hard to stay relevant for more than a few minutes in today’s world fueled by technology, it seems. However, Twitter has proven to be a mainstay and has lasted for more than 16 years. On March 21, 2006, the first ever tweet was sent by Jack Dorsey at 3:50 PM Eastern time. It simply read “just setting up my twttr.” Since then, the website hasn’t looked back with countless tweets making their way to the universe.

4. The Creation of the Hashtag

You might think that the hashtag that we all know and love came with the invention of Twitter, but it actually took some time for it to become a thing. The pound sign, as we knew it before social media, was first used by Chris Messina to get tweets based around single topics all in one space. “How do you feel about using # (pound) for groups,” Messina asked in a tweet back in August 2007. Now, there’s a hashtag for just about everything and you can see them plastered more than company slogans in advertising.

3. Library of Congress Gets Involved

Back in 2010, the Library of Congress began archiving every public tweet when the social media platform really started to take off. This included adding all presidential tweets into the national archives. However, that would come to an end on January 1, 2018. The LoC opted to instead archive tweets selectively so that the ones that were more culturally significant were focused on instead of just any random thought. It also proved to be a lot more cost effective.

2. The Failed Ventures

Tweeting isn’t the only thing that Twitter has had a focus on over the years. There were also short form videos and live streaming, both of which went by the wayside. Vine was the video service that created countless internet memes and was massively popular, paving the way for TikTok. However, they cut the service back in 2016 and are probably kicking themselves for that. As for live streaming, Twitter had their attempt with Periscope, but was overshadowed by platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

1. Notable Bans

There’s a chance that you’ve been blocked by someone on Twitter, but you really have to do something against terms of service to get banned from the site. There have been some notable bans during Twitter’s history, including then-president Donald Trump due to the acts of January 6, 2021. Other notable people that have been banned from Twitter include Azealia Banks, Tila Tequila, Martin Shkreli, Alex Jones and even former Major League Baseball star Aubrey Huff.

5 Surprising Facts About Youtube

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No matter where you are in the world, everyone knows YouTube. The platform created a user-friendly interface that allows us to watch videos for hours on end each day in any genre that you can imagine. YouTube has been around for over 15 years now and no competitor has been able to even come close to touching its success. There are some interesting things that have happened to the video giant over the years, and here are a few of the more surprising YouTube facts.

5. Humble Beginnings

We might not have YouTube if eBay didn’t purchase PayPal back in the early 2000s. That’s because when the buyout happened, it made PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim very wealthy. They used the money to create YouTube after Karim was trying to find videos of a certain “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl and a tsunami that hit Indonesia. With that, YouTube was created and the first video came from Karim at the San Diego Zoo.

4. Sub Milestones

The names on YouTube have changed over the years, but the race to become the most subscribed hasn’t. Brookers became the first YouTuber to reach 10,000 and the numbers have ballooned since. FRED became the first to 1 million in 2009 and four years later Smosh hit 10 million. PewDiePie would be the first to reach 20 million, doing so in January 2014 when he was already the top subscribe getter. He held that title for 2,050 days before being surpassed by T-Series in 2019 and they have held the title since then following a three week back-and-forth.

3. Low Watch Time

You may have noticed that YouTube has been going all in on the YouTube Shorts program, highlighting shorter videos in a different format than their standard ones. That’s because short videos tend to get a lot of clicks and don’t require a lot of attention. In fact, nearly a quarter of the videos on YouTube are turned off before 10 seconds even elapse. That’s why you’re seeing the site embrace more of the TikTok length of videos.

2. Ads Pay the Bills

It may feel like it was more recent, but YouTube has been using advertising in its videos since back in January of 2009. The reason it feels more recent is because the website has upped the amount of ads you’re watching in recent years, including double advertisements before videos even play. Because of this, YouTube has made an insane amount of money, and in their most recently reported quarter earned $7.34 billion in revenue. Just a reminder, that’s only in three months.

1. Down with Dislikes

YouTube made a lot of headlines in December 2021 when it announced that it would be removing the public dislike counter on every video. Perhaps the reason is because YouTube itself uploaded the most disliked video in the website’s history. The 2018 YouTube Rewind was universally panned, amassing 20.1 million dislikes to make it by far the most disliked video. Other videos in the top five include “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (12.7 million), the Justin Bieber song “Baby” (13.51 million), the trailer for “Sadak 2” (13.7 million) and “Baby Shark Dance” (16.62 million).

How To Build A Following On LinkedIn

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When we think of building a following on social media, some of the first thoughts usually come from Twitter or Instagram. However, in the professional universe, LinkedIn is the go-to for social media. With more than 830 million users on the site, LinkedIn has become a great way to recruit and network for businesses. It can be difficult to stand out, but if you can build a following, you’ll get noticed very quickly. Here’s how to do just that.

5. Have a Full Profile

No matter what social media platform you’re using, it’s important to have your profile and bio completely filled out. If all you have is a profile picture (and it’s important to have a professional one of those, even), then people aren’t likely to engage with your content. If you post something and someone clicks on your profile, you want it to look like you know exactly what you’re talking about in your posts. Fill your bio out to the best of your abilities and keep it as professional as possible for maximum success.

4. Have a Website/Blog

It’s great to make your own posts on LinkedIn, but it’s much easier to make content more shareable and capable of going viral if you have your own website or blog. Attempt to make posts on your website and then share them on your LinkedIn, copying and pasting a portion of the text from your post to garner attention and include the link. You can also put a button on your website that directs to your LinkedIn profile to get more traffic. Images are another big way to get quick attention and shares on LinkedIn, as well.

3. Keep Posting

One thing about social media and developing a following is that most people simply tap out too quickly. After they make a few posts that don’t get shared, they get discouraged and end up ignoring their social media sites altogether, and LinkedIn is no exception. If you only get one or two shares on a post, don’t fret. Just keep sharing what you have and eventually it will catch on. While quality is the most important thing, quantity is also important when you’re sharing posts.

2. Actively Engage

Once you’ve posted on LinkedIn, don’t just let it sit there and be shared. If you don’t have a large following as it is, you’re hurting yourself by not engaging with those that interact with your content. Try to respond to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. This makes you more accessible and relatable, allowing people to feel comfort in being able to get an answer or response from you. You don’t have to respond to troll accounts or anything like that, but do your best to make sure everyone is heard in their comments.

1. Analyze the Analytics

Thankfully, LinkedIn has made it easy to track how your posts are doing thanks to the page analytics function on the website. From here, you’ll be able to see how your posts are doing, what time of the day you’re getting the most engagement and where your viewers are coming from. Pay close attention to these analytics and use them to tweak your future strategy. It’s becoming easier every day to manage social media, and this is another one of those great tools.

Top 5 Most Positive Twitter Personalities

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Out of all of the social media platforms, Twitter is perhaps the one that gets pointed out the most for its toxicity. While most people post their real name and picture on Facebook (another battleground for opposing opinions), Twitter allows you to be completely anonymous. Because of the constant fighting on Twitter, it can be a bit grating on your mental health. If you love Twitter but want to get away from the bickering and check out something positive on the site, you’re in luck. Here are five positive Twitter personalities that are sure to brighten your day and make you forget how hectic life can be.

5. WholesomeMemes (@wholesomememe)

Back in August 2016, a man named Chris started up a Twitter account focusing on the most wholesome memes that the internet was churning out. Since then, the account has exploded in popularity with people wanting a quick smile, amassing nearly 3 million followers thanks to an endless stream of content that gets posted pretty much hourly. From birds hopping around in sweaters to original cartoons, Wholesomememes has a little something for everyone that needs some brightness.

4. Maria Popova (@brainpicker)

Bulgarian born Maria Popova started a blog back in 2006 that quickly became popular called Brain Pickings, and the following year joined Twitter. Now with nearly 1 million followers, Popova has been finding some of the most interesting tidbits, many of which are surrounded in the positivity of human nature. Popova has been very active in the years since starting her account and has also written several of her own pieces with interesting finds.

3. WeRateDogs (@dog_rates)

Do you absolutely love dogs and think they’re perfect no matter what? That’s what the people over at WeRateDogs think too. People from all over the world send photographs of their dogs to the account to get a rating, none of which are below 10 out of 10. There are also dogs that make the news that get an impromptu rating. It’s all for a good cause, too, as this account helps to support animal charities that include the Kentucky Humane Society and JustFoodForDogs to name a couple.

2. Preschool Gems (@PreschoolGems

Kids really do say the darndest things. That’s what Leslie McCollom of Portland, Oregon found out while being a teacher. McCollom takes some of the wildest things that young children have said in classrooms and makes quick quotes on Twitter such as “Why is an elephant?” or “Never forget: ‘Have a strang hart and be your salf.’” They’re very cute messages, and McCollom has even created a book that curates all of her favorite preschool-isms.

1. Earthpix (@EarthPix)

If you need to remind yourself that the Earth is a beautiful place filled with natural wonder, look no further than the EarthPix Twitter account. From the crystal clear waters off the shores of Italy to county fairs in the rural United States, EarthPix shows us the varying cultures of the world and the beauty in everyday life. There are now more than 3 million people following EarthPix, all of whom want to see this planet we share and the people who help to make humanity what it is today.

Top 5 Richest TikTokers

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There have been a lot of social media platforms to come and go over the years, but some have certainly caught on and become giants in the industry. Over the past couple of years, video platform TikTok has quickly made its way to the top and has become the most used app around the world. Because of this, TikTok has also made some of its users very rich and famous. Here are the five that have benefitted the most from TikTok’s explosion in popularity since its inception (at under its current namesake) in 2018.

5. Loren Gray ($5 Million)

Loren Gray was one of the first people to make it big on TikTok, going back to the time when it was still musical.ly. At the time, she was still in elementary school and would make her way to Los Angeles and grow her social media presence. Gray’s following has now ballooned to over 54 million on TikTok alone and she has used her following to start a career in both acting and music videos. Some notable artists she’s worked with include Taylor Swift.

4. Baby Ariel ($6 Million)

Born in 2000 as Ariel Martin, this Florida native is better known as Baby Ariel on social media platforms, especially on TikTok. What originally was a hobby that started when she was bored, Martin has become an international star that has gotten into acting in recent years. This includes starring in the television films “Zombies 2” and “Zombies 3”, as well as the web series “Chicken Girls”.

3. Burak Ozdemir ($11 Million)

Believe it or not, the oldest person on our list is Burak Ozdemir (or CZN Burak as he’s commonly known). You might think that he’s in his 30s or 40s, but he’s still only 27 years old. Ozdemir’s father owns a textile business in their native Turkey, and Ozdemir himself went into the restaurant business. He opened several restaurants that span multiple countries and have seen a boom in business thanks to his popular TikTok page that has around 62 million followers and over 1 billion likes.

2. Addison Rae ($15 Million)

A dancer from Louisiana, Addison Rae (last name Easterling) actually dropped out of college shortly after enrolling at LSU when her videos on TikTok began going viral. Since then, Rae has become a staple of social media and has branched out into business ventures that include fashion and cosmetics partnerships and even acting and singing. Rae released her first single in 2021 with “Obsessed” and starred in the 2021 Netflix film “He’s All That”.

1. Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio ($30 Million) 

It might seem like cheating to include two people in the top spot together, but it would be hard to disassociate the D’Amelio sisters since they came into the limelight together. Their mother Heidi was a model and her father an aspiring politician. Charlie and Dixie would end up getting into social media where they quickly took off and signed with a talent agency. Since then, they have gathered over 100 million combined followers and they have become extremely wealthy as a result. It’s likely we’ve only seen the beginning of their careers, too.

Top 5 Richest YouTubers

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When it was first brought onto the internet in 2005, YouTube was just a way of uploading some grainy family videos or goofs with your friends that might get around 10 views. These days, it’s how most of us get our entertainment, news and more as YouTube’s reach is higher than that of cable television. With that said, there have been plenty of people to amass a big fortune thanks to YouTube. You’ll notice that the list of the richest YouTubers skews a bit older due to its time of inception compared to the richest TikTokers or Instagrammers (and most are from playing video games), and here are those five that have created the largest net worth.

5. DanTDM ($35 Million)

Dan Middleton began his YouTube channel back in 2012 under the name TheDiamondMinecart and has since changed it to DanTDM as of 2016. His videos routinely hit millions of views, and the main source of his views come from his Minecraft videos. Middleton has over 26 million subscribers with his three most watched videos all coming more than five years ago and reaching over 50 million views. Naturally, these three videos are indeed Minecraft ones.

4. Markiplier ($35 Million)

More of a variety streamer, 33 year old Mark Fischbach has been a busy man over the past decade under the name Markiplier on youTube. He is considered one of the “OGs” of YouTube that has had a steady following during his time on the platform. These days, Fischbach has over 33 million subscribers with some of his videos reaching over 100 million views. Like DanTDM, there is one game in particular that Markiplier was known most for, and that’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s”.

3. PewDiePie ($40 Million)

For several years, Felix Kjellberg was the king of YouTube. He was the most subscribed to channel on the platform beginning in 2013 and held that spot until he was overtaken by Indian record label T-Series. Of course, Kjellberg is known as PewDiePie (or Pewds to his loyal fans) that was in the spotlight on a mainstream basis, but due to some unfavorable coverage has cut down on his uploading schedule and has enjoyed a more subdued life with his now-wife Marzia Bisognin, a fellow internet personality.

2. Ryan Kaji ($50 Million)

Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle, and that’s exactly what happened for Ryan Kaji and his family. When watching YouTube at a very young age, Kaji asked his mother why he wasn’t on YouTube playing with toys. She then quit her job and helped him make a channel and now it’s a media empire. Yes, all of that is true. Still, go call your mother and tell her that you love her despite not making you a millionaire at just a few years old. Ryan Kaji, between his YouTube channel and various merchandise, is worth $50 million.

1. Jeffree Star ($200 Million)

It might come as a surprise to see Jeffree Star at the top of the list considering that he has under 16 million subscribers, which is peanuts compared to the rest of those on the list. However, the makeup artist is also an entrepreneur and the cosmetics line that he created is bringing in around $100 million per year. When you add those two up, you get a lot of wealth. Interestingly enough, this number could be higher but Star turned down $500 million from L’Oreal for his cosmetics line.