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Instagram rivals try to lure users away after photo rights flap

Instagram's competitors are pouncing on the company's claim that it will be able to sell users' photos for advertising purposes without payment or notification.

They're hoping that irritation over Instagram's controversial decision -- which came three months after Facebook completed the acquisition -- will lure users away from the popular photo-sharing app, which passed the 100 million user mark in September.

"We will certainly do our best to make sure that Instagram users are aware of 23snaps as an alternative service," Meaghan Fitzgerald, head of marketing for 23snaps, a London-based company that makes an … Read more

How to back up your Instagram photos and delete your account

On January 16, the photos you upload to Instagram can be used for third-party advertising. This change in Instagram's policy means that the photos you take of your kids, pets, family, or anything else, can be sold without even notifying you. If you decide to wait until after January 16 to close your Instagram account, your photos could still be used or sold.

Not really feeling the change? You're not alone. Many users are wondering what they can do with their Instagram account -- whether they can download all of their photos and preserve their privacy, or if … Read more

Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos

Update, December 18 at 2:50 p.m. PT: Instagram has backed down, as we report in this CNET article posted a few minutes ago. Instagram says it will "remove" the language that caused a user revolt over the last day.

Instagram said today that it has the perpetual right to sell users' photographs without payment or notification, a dramatic policy shift that quickly sparked a public outcry.

The new intellectual property policy, which takes effect on January 16, comes three months after Facebook completed its acquisition of the popular photo-sharing site. Unless Instagram users delete their accounts … Read more

Facebook godfather groups spark mafia victims' ire

Facebook has sprouted pages that pay tribute to notorious mafia bosses, and relatives of mafia victims are none too happy about that fact, according to the U.K. publication Times Online.

The groups idolizing Cosa Nostra godfathers have generated thousands of supporters in Italy, according to the report. But opponents say the fan pages reflect a lack of public and state support for the victims of mafia crimes and glamorize the perpetrators.

Pages on the social-networking site laud mafia players including Salvatore (Toto) Riina, jailed in 1993 and currently serving 12 life sentences for murder, and Bernardo Provenzano, his successor, … Read more