January 26, 2026
The Instagram platform, affiliated with Meta, announced the activation of a new feature to protect the privacy of Iranian users. This feature allows you to hide the follower and follower lists of any account inside Iran, with the aim of protecting citizens from possible security surveillance.
The American magazine “Newsweek” reported in a report on Monday, January 26, that this measure came in response to reports about officials in Tehran exploiting “Instagram” data to identify participants in the protests and target them or their social networks.
Under this new update, users will see a completely blank page when trying to access the follower list of an account located inside Iran.
This step comes at a very important time given the difficult circumstances the country is going through, as Iranians rely on “Instagram” as the main means of transmitting images and scenes of protests to the outside world before the Internet shuts down. This update aims to prevent authorities from tracking social relationships and putting pressure on citizens through arrests or intimidation.
It should be noted that human rights organizations have indicated that thousands were killed during the protests that began in late December, in light of mounting international pressure and threats from the US presidency due to Tehran’s treatment of the demonstrators.
