Can I trust Instagram?
This app did not meet two or more trust checks, has a critical issue in one, or has a red flag.
- What it means for you
- The app may include code to pass standard usage and device data to the app developer and integrated services. The breakdown below lists the data types and third parties involved.
- Main concern
- Cross-app device ID persists in keychain despite user denying ATT tracking consent
- The developer's description
- Instagram is a social media platform for sharing photos, videos, and reels with a global community. The app enables direct messaging, stories, and personalized content discovery powered by on-device machine learning.
- Third-party services
- 14
- Findings rated low or higher
- 8
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Full findings
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Trust checks
Secure by Design
One criterion not metSecurity gaps detected
Why this result
This check looks for security issues at high severity or above in the code of this build, and at least one was recorded. Issues of this kind include a credential or token another app on the device can reach, sensitive data stored without protection, and network paths that expose information in transit.
Data Minimization
One criterion not metTracking lacks clear disclosure
Why this result
This build contains analytics or attribution code written to send data to companies other than the developer. No consent step was found before that code runs, and the app's disclosures do not describe the collection in full. Tracking by itself is ordinary; what this check reports is the combination of collection, recipient and absent disclosure.
Manifest Mismatch
One criterion not metDisclosure incomplete or contradicted
Why this result
The check compares the app's privacy disclosures against what the code does, and at least one claim did not match in this build. Mismatches of this kind include a data category collected but not disclosed, a recipient the disclosure omits, and an identifier attached to data the disclosure describes as anonymous.
User Control
StrongNo lock-in
Why this result
The check looks for a way to export the data an account has accumulated and a way to delete the account itself. In this build, either both were found, or the app has no account of its own and keeps its data on the device. For an app without an account, the developer has no server-side copy to export or delete, and deleting the app removes the data in its own storage.
No code patterns indicating artificial barriers to account deletion, data export, or switching services were found in the binary. The app does not appear to rely on proprietary data formats that would trap user content.
Strengths
- API traffic is protected by multi-layer certificate pinning (FBSSLPinningVerifier + SPKI-based proxygen pinner), raising the bar for interception attacks against Instagram's own communications
- Opt-in end-to-end encrypted Direct Messages via the Instamadillo protocol with a dedicated encrypted iCloud backup container — Meta cannot read E2EE DM content even on its servers
- On-device ML inference via embedded PyTorch — AI and recommendation features process data locally with no confirmed server egress
What the app contains
14 services
Third-party services the scan names in the build:
- GoogleCast 4.8.3
- SpotifyiOS 6.1.0
- FFmpeg/libavcodec (Meta custom build)
- FBSharedFramework (Facebook SDK — FBSDKAppEvents, FBSDKApplicationDelegate)
- Stripe (embedded IAB JavaScript)
- Mastercard SRC (embedded IAB JavaScript)
- Shopify (IAB)
- Meta AR / FBAR
- PyTorch (embedded on-device ML)
- sqlite-vec
- FBAnalytics
- MerlinLog
- XDSPData
- FOA
Libraries
| Library | Version | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| FBSharedFramework | 1.0 | none confirmed |
| GoogleCast | 4.8.3 | none confirmed |
| not recorded | none confirmed | |
| SpotifyiOS | 6.1.0 | none confirmed |
| libavcodec | 1.0 | none confirmed |
| libavutil | 1.0 | none confirmed |
| libmobile_first_frame_pipeline | 1.0 | none confirmed |
Changes since the previous scan
- Version 442.0.0 (Build 1035455812 — compiled 2026-08-07), score 76.
- Score 77 before, 76 after.
- Version 434.0.0 (build 994860828 / FBAppVersion 434.0.0.28.78) before, 442.0.0 (Build 1035455812 — compiled 2026-08-07) after.
- Score change since version 434.0.0 (build 994860828 / FBAppVersion 434.0.0.28.78): -1 point.
- Since the previous scan: 14 findings added, 9 removed.
- Version 434.0.0 (build 994860828 / FBAppVersion 434.0.0.28.78), score 77.
- Score 84 before, 77 after.
- Version 424.0.0 (Build 928269732) before, 434.0.0 (build 994860828 / FBAppVersion 434.0.0.28.78) after.
- Version 424.0.0 (Build 928269732), score 84.
- Score 85 before, 84 after.
- Version 422.1.0 (Build 918355888) before, 424.0.0 (Build 928269732) after.
- Version 422.1.0 (Build 918355888), score 85.
- First public scan of this app.
Method and limits
Static analysis: the decompiled code, manifest and resources of this build, read file by file. Network traffic at run time is established by a capture of the running app.
- Files decompiled
- 101,000
- Scan date
- 11 August 2026
Corrections
No correction is published for this app.
Developer response
No response is published for this app.
Report an error Opens an email to [email protected] that names this app and this scan.