Instagram constantly accesses a smartphone’s camera while the app is open, and monitors users without seeking their consent, a new lawsuit has alleged. It does so to gain valuable insight into how users interact with ads on the platform, in order to target ads and further increase its advertising revenue, it added. By doing so, Instagram and parent Facebook have been to monitor users’ most intimate moments, including those in the privacy of their own homes, in addition to collecting valuable insight and market research on its users, the lawsuit alleged. Bloomberg first reported this. The lawsuit sought appropriate compensation, and also an order requiring Facebook and Instagram to “disgorge profits or other benefits” that they have “acquired as a result of its invasions of privacy”. The lawsuit was filed after reports emerged that Instagram had access to iPhone users’ camera even though they hadn’t allowed the app to do so. It also said that Instagram’s practise was violative of the California Consumer Privacy Act. Why the lawsuit was filed: With the new iOS14, Apple’s operating system for iPhones and iPads for 2020, the company had introduced a slew of additional notifications — among which was a notification whenever an app accessed an iPhone’s camera (a green indicator) or mic (a yellow indicator). By virtue of these additional notifications, it was reportedly found that Instagram was accessing the camera of iPhones even though users hadn’t consented to it. Upon discovery, Instagram defended itself by saying that a bug was causing…
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