National Geographic Stops Uploading Photos On Instagram Following New TOS

Instagram recently changed their terms of service and it says that they have the rights to sell your photos as ads.  However Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom insisted that the company will not actually do that.  They intend to monetize their service by placing sponsored posts from brands within the News Feed.  One of the largest brands to stop using Instagram as a result of the terms of service change is National Geographic.  National Geographic posted a message that said “@NatGeo is suspending new posts to Instagram.  We are very concerned with the direction of the proposed new terms of service and if they remain as presented we may close our account.”  National Geographic has over 640,000 followers on Instagram.  Instagram became a subsidiary of Facebook following a $1 billion acquisition in April 2012.

Instagram Says That They Do Not Intend To Sell Your Photos

Earlier this week Instagram made some changes to their privacy policy.  The new terms contained some eerie details about what rights Instagram gave themselves regarding the photos that you upload to the mobile photo social network.  Some bullet points from the changes include Instagram giving themselves the rights to use your photos for selling ads, ads may not be marked clearly, and that the company has the rights to use your photos.  Their updated terms of service also contains details about how they are not a backup service and you agree not to rely on them for that purpose.

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Twitter Bid $525 Million On Instagram Before Facebook Bought Them For $1 Billion

When Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, the reason why the number was so high was because Twitter made an offer to buy them for $525 million.  We knew that Twitter made an offer before, but we did not know until today that the amount was $525 million.  The New York Times cited this information based on a source with Instagram.

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Twitter iPhone and Android Apps Now Have Photo Filters

Twitter has announced that their Android and iPhone applications now have photo filters that are like Instagram.  Some of the filters include Vignette, Black & White, Warm, Cool, Vintage, Cinematic, Happy, and Gritty.  The photo filters are powered by a company called Aviary.  The timing couldn’t have worked out better for Twitter since Instagram ended their photo integration with them today.  Below is a video that Twitter put together about the new feature:

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Instagram Ends Twitter Photo Integration

For those of you that post Instagram photos on Twitter, you may be disappointed that Instagram has ended integration with the micro-blogging service.  Links to your photos will remain functional, but you will notice that photos that were stored as gallery Twitter Cards are gone.  Earlier this month, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom had apologized for the issue.  Below is what Twitter wrote about Instagram:

Instagram has disabled photo integration with Twitter. As a result, photos are no longer appearing in Tweets or user photo galleries.

While tweeting links to Instagram photos is still possible, you can no longer view the photos on Twitter, as was previously the case.

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom Apologizes For Twitter Issues

Earlier today there was some speculation that Instagram would be ending their integration with Twitter.  However Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said that the company “will always be integrated with Twitter.”  Twitter wrote on a blog post today that Instagram pulled the ability for the website to show photos properly related to Twitter cards.

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Instagram Blocks Twitter Card Integration

Today Instagram disabled the ability for Twitter to display Instagram photos on their website and applications correctly.  Twitter and Instagram’s rivalry has been intense ever since Facebook acquired Instagram.  Twitter and Facebook were in a bidding war for the Instagram at one point.  Twitter wrote on a status update that Instagram disabled its integration with Twitter cards.  Twitter cards are used to display images and content within Twitter messages.

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