Is it RIGHT to use other peoples images on your Instagram? Copyright.

Ahh that (digital) age-old-question on whether you can use that photo or not. Believe it or not, it’s always been VERY VERY clear… but it did mean you would have to trawl through the mire of Instagram’s T&Cs. But now it’s become downright dangerous to use someone else’s creative content.

Instagram is changing, constantly, and one thing they’ve been very clear about for the past year is their focus on original creator content. What that also means is they are cracking down – hard – on accounts and individuals using other people’s photos and videos without consent.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have I posted someone’s image or video on Instagram without credit?
• Have I posted someone’s image or video on Instagram and credited them in the caption with a ‘tag’ or a ‘photo by’?

If you answered YES to either of these questions, you’ve infringed the creator’s copyright and breached Instagram’s T&Cs. Whether you meant to – or not.

Unfortunately, using another creators image or video on your account without consent, is against Instagram’s T&C’s and could very much land you in hot water with both Instagram and the creator.

What is consent? Asking permission (through a DM or email) and getting that written consent back from the creator. Simply tagging the creator in your post is simply not enough.

That pretty picture of a facial product or the stunning drone image of a popular Perth beach is someone else’s hard work, skill and time, and a tag in your caption isn’t going to cut it anymore (and actually never did). Instagram is cracking down on these types of copyright breaches more regularly and that ‘innocent share’ can get your account restricted or closed down… plus the creator can lodge a copyright infringement too.

It’s not all bad news… you can 10000% share someone’s Reel from their account to your stories, in fact – it is encouraged!

Orrrrrr – Instagram has made it very clear it will prioritise original content, that is, content made by you – a photo, video or sound… so have a go at creating that stuff you need! Smart phones take amazing photos and videos these days and you can be a graphic design QUEEN in Canva… it may seem hard at first, but trust us, your audience, your Instagram account AND your lawyer will appreciate the effort.

So, what are our three takeaway tips??

1. Ask nicely to use someone’s image or video, tell them how you want to use it – and make sure they say yes.
2. Create your own content!
3. Use some shit-hot stock imagery or videos to supplement your other content.

Got some questions?

Hit us up via DM’s on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok - @darkhorseperth.