How To Disable Instagram Embeds (And Why You Should)

Following a push by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Instagram added the ability to disable embeds on your posts.

The NPPA said it worked with Instagram for more than a year and a half to make this happen. Photographers and other creators no longer have to worry about the Internet stealing their content if they don’t want to. Here are the steps to disable embeds on Instagram:

Disable Instagram embed on mobile:

1. Go to your Instagram profile

Tap on the three lines in the top right corner, then select Settings.

2. In Settings, select Account, then Embed

3. Toggle “Allow people to embed your posts or profile on other websites”

Now there you have it — a way to prevent others from embedding what you put on Instagram. Apart from mobile, you can do the same on the desktop version of the app.

Disable Instagram embed on desktop:

1. Go to your Instagram profile and click on the Settings gear

2. In Settings, click on Privacy and security

3. Scroll down to Embed and uncheck “Allow people to embed your posts or profile on other websites”

Why should you use this feature?

The ASMP and NPAA fought over the feature because third-party websites circumvented copyright law by simply embedding Instagram posts. When speaking to Facebook (which owns Instagram), the organizations cited several court cases, including: Sinclair vs Ziff Davis (Full disclosure: Mashable is owned by Ziff Davis).

“The NPPA believes this change is extremely important given all the litigation related to embedding,” Mickey H. Osterreich, NPPA General Counsel, said in a statement.

“We hope that photographers will take advantage of this feature. We also hope that publications will stop trying to circumvent copyright protections by claiming they have the right to embed images and that those photographers have the right to be properly licensed who often risk their health and safety to make them.” ,

The addition of the new feature means that photographers and other creatives can showcase their work on Instagram, knowing that their rights as the owner of that content will be slightly more protected.