Instagram starts asking some users about their race and ethnicity
Between the controversy over Instagram’s attempts to ape TikTok and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noting that the volume of recommended content is set to double over the next year, the app has barely been out of the news this week. Now, the Instagram team wants to know more about the experiences of marginalized communities in the app.
To gain a fuller understanding of the different kinds of experiences people can have on the platform, Instagram says it needs more demographic information. “If we don’t know people’s race or ethnicity, we’re limited in our ability to assess how our products impact different communities,” an Instagram blog post reads.
Starting today and over the next few months, it’s asking some users in the US to share that information about themselves. The survey is optional and not everyone will see it. Instagram says taking part in the survey will not change anything about how you use the platform, such as the reach of your posts.
Instagram isn’t hosting the survey itself. Research and polling company YouGov will collect the data. It will encrypt the de-identified responses and split the information between several research institutions. In the end, Instagram will receive aggregated data. Neither Instagram nor its research partners — Texas Southern University, University of Central Florida, Northeastern University and Oasis Labs — will be able to link responses to individual users. YouGov will delete the responses after 30 days and the research partners will do so on request.
In June 2020, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri pledged to examine how the platform impacts communities differently, specifically in terms of harassment, verification, content distribution and algorithmic bias. A few months later, Instagram said it was building an equity team to focus on “better understanding and addressing bias in our product development and people’s experiences on Instagram.”
Between the controversy over Instagram’s attempts to ape TikTok and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noting that the volume of recommended content is set to double over the next year, the app has barely been out of the news this week. Now, the Instagram team wants to know more about the…
Recent Posts
- Dell leak details next-gen Windows on Arm chips, 29-hour laptops, and more
- Canon’s flagship EOS R1 is finally official, and it will have never-before-seen power
- Tado adds Matter to new smart heating range
- Google now offers ‘web’ search — and an AI opt-out button
- Ayn’s new gaming handheld looks like a PSP, and it might just fill the hole in your heart left by Sony’s best portable
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011