2019 Instagram Privacy "Deadline Tomorrow" Notice Hoax

Submission 3,060

Part of a series on Facebook Privacy Notices. [View Related Entries]

About

The 2019 Instagram Privacy Hoax refers to a widely spread copypasta that proclaims that the social media company Instagram does not own users' data or photographs. Appearing as early as 2012 on Facebook, the copypasta again rose to prominence in 2019 as prominent public figures shared screenshots of the copypasta, which had been doctored for the platform. The copypasta reads:

Don’t forget Deadline tomorrow !!! Everything you’ve ever posted becomes public from tomorrow. Even messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. It costs nothing for a simple copy and paste, better safe than sorry. Channel 13 News talked about the change in Instagram’s privacy policy. I do not give Instagram or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. With this statement, I give notice to Instagram it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. … NOTE: Instagram is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tacitly allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates.

Origin

While the exact origin of the copypasta is unknown, the earliest citing of the statement was in its debunking on the fact checking website Snopes ^[1] on June 4th, 2012.

Later that year, they noted that Facebook had issued a statement on these messages. They wrote:

There is a rumor circulating that Facebook is making a change related to ownership of users’ information or the content they post to the site. This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms. They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been.

Spread

Over the next decade, the text would continue to appear on timelines across social media platforms. On July 4th, 2016, Facebook^[2] user Ayman asked about the statement on the Facebook help forums. The post has been seen 4,300 times in just over three years (shown below).

Throughout 2016, various other news agencies would report on the hoax, including Business Insider,^[3] CBS,^[4] The Guardian^[5] and more.

On August 12th, 2019, the website Rick's Daily Tips^[6] noted that the "Deadline Tomorrow" hoax had returned. Less than two weeks later, various prominent public people and celebrities began sharing the a doctored variation of the statement on Instagram. For example, on August 20th, Empire star Taraji P. Henson posted the statement,^[7] receiving more than 55,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

While many of these celebrities have since deleted the posts, New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz posted^[8] screenshots of examples on Twitter (examples below, left and center). The initial post received more than 600 likes and 175 retweets in 24 hours.

Lorenz later tweeted,^[9] "Countless celebs including Judd Apatow, Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Debra Messing, Taraji p Henson, Beyoncé’s mom, Wacka Flocka Flame and more have spread this hoax to millions and millions of fans." The tweet received more than 650 likes and 170 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That day, some noted that the United States Secretary of Energy Rick Perry had also posted about the privacy policy. Journalist Yashar Ali tweeted^[10] a screenshot of Perry's post, receiving more than 4,200 likes and 850 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, left). That day, Perry took the notice down and replaced it with a parody version (shown below, center).^[11]

That day, Instagram head Adam Mosseri tweeted,^[12] "If you’re seeing a meme claiming Instagram is changing its rules tomorrow, it’s not true" (shown below, right)

Several media outlets reported on the hoax, including Mashable, ^[13] The Verge,^[14] CNN,^[15] BuzzFeed ^[16] and more.