It’s what the title says, i don’t want to be posted on fricking instagram and my school didn’t ask for anyone’s consent. It’s not just one, it’s severeal. How can i make instagram remove them? Thank you for your help
edit 1: thanks for the heads up, especially for the ones who seem truly interested to help me in this matter. So what i did till now is to send an email to my school collaborator (which is a scholastic figure who is responsible for the management of the school in general) requesting the deletion of the images depicting myself.
This is the complete request translated in english: Hi, I saw that recently several photos have been posted by the school account on instagram that depict me. I kindly request the removal of the aforementioned photos, since I have not given consent (or if given, withdraw such consent) to the publication of my image online on accounts not controlled and managed by me. I explicitly ask you to avoid “censoring” my image, but to commit to deleting the photos in which I am present, in order to avoid any kind of retaliation against me. Please let me know if there is anything else I should do to complete this process, thanks for your cooperation.
I’ve also tried to let instagram delete these images through this link but i don’t know if it was successful or not because i gave them an email as contact info but i didn’t receive anything yet.
I’ll let you know how this ends Update: Today, during class hours, I was summoned by the principal to their office. They wanted to discuss with me the content of that email, specifically they asked me directly severeal things. They asked me if i was in any kind of “danger”, since i wrote, in their opinion, a sentence that could be interpreted as a sort of announcement of possible danger on my side. They were referring to this sentence contained in the email: “…in order to avoid any kind of retaliation against me.”. I replied to them that i was merely referring to possible social judgment that could come from my classmates and/or erasmus participants after seeing my face censored or any photo deleted on any school social account.
They asked me the reason why i wanted those photos to be deleted, to which i replied that i didn’t enjoy the idea of having my likeness shown in social accounts that i don’t own and don’t have access to (they even posted me on facebook by the way).
So, that mocking removed of a principal, replied to me saying that apparently my dad did sign the privacy waiver back when he enrolled me to my school so basically i have no right to request the deletion of the photos and neither having my face censored because, since i’m a minor, my dad signed it. I then asked them if it was possible to withdraw such consent, and they replied that it was possible but my parents are in charge of it, not me. They then warned me about having called my parents asking, prior to our meeting, if they remember signing the waiver, to which they replied “yes” (but of course when i advancely asked them if they remember signing anything, they said idk/i don’t remember) but not only that, they even said that my parents weren’t willing to withdraw any consent regarding my image usage nor any privacy related clauses (thanks mom, thanks dad, as always).
Set apart the mockings about how this request of mine was only a fixation and that there could not be any kind of social retaliation against me because students won’t give a damn about why my face was censored (which is a good things, except that it’s not how it works here) and they instead focus on studying (biggest lie i’ve eve heard, my school sucks ass when it comes to having committed students, no coincidence that i was the only one able to speak english among the erasmus participants) and that i should do it too instead of thinking about these things… set apart that, since i was exhausted i said fine, i’ll be waiting till i’m 18 years old and then you’ll remove those images. They basically said (NUH UH) that they’re not going to delete any photo since the purpose of erasmuses, as a European initiative, is to disseminate, which means publicize this initiative and that the best they can do is to “censor” my face. I replied to them that it was their choice, and not this kind of erasmus purpose, to not commit deleting the images in which i was present. I said whatever, as long as my face is censored, i can sleep well at night but they said that they are gonna censor me as the law requires… great, what does it mean? It means that they’re just gonna be putting a black bar to cover my eyes. Oh that’s awesome, haha facebook, got you there, i’m unrecognizable now!
So what can i do now? My last resorts are either to convince my parents to withdraw such consent or to continue emailing instagram about deleting the photos in which my face is shown. Instagram in the end did respond to my request but, they were asking me the exact position and description of me in the photo, so that they can verify that i am indeed in that photo (how exactly? I don’t know since i could be faking it). Isn’t that like telling facebook who i am , which is exactly the contrary to the purpose of my request? What are your opinions about this?
Tell your school you don’t want your picture to be online (on Instagram) and ask them to remove it.
If i do that i’ll probably be targeted by the school staff and the people in that photo as an idiot that is scared to show his faces on photos, and if i explain that it’s a matter of privacy then i’d probably look weirder. My school probably won’t cooperate
Well do you want privacy or not? Get over yourself. What do you care what they think? As a school they should have a list of who they can and can’t use in photos. It’s actually a fucking nightmare for any marketing staff but that’s part of their job. They need to respond to it. Unless you’re American… then your rights are imaginary. Suck it up and smile
American here - it could be different in other states, but as a parent every year at the beginning of the school year I had to sign a specific form during registration stating whether or not I would permit my child’s photo be taken/published. Yes, it’s going to be a nightmare to track, but the school shouldn’t want the headache of the fall out for not pulling a photo.
Thank god i’m not an american
If you’re european it’s a clear breach of GDPR. Photos of people are generally considered personal data
But unfortunately you’re an asshole.
Fuggin got em
As you say, internet man
I’m not sure that’s the case. Just take some time to write a simple email:
*Hi
It seems you’ve uploaded some photos of me on Instagram. Please remove them.
Best OP *
Doesn’t have to be dramatic.
Just personally I’d request they be removed rather than state a preference.
Fixed and agree. This was just an example of simplicity. 🙂
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Ease up, they’re still in school and just want the pictures removed without unduly annoying a big authority in their life.
And without kicking myself in the nuts in the process. I don’t want to become anyone’s target, they are all assholes here
+10 renegade
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Control of one’s image is pretty important these days, even to teenagers. And the school should not be posting identifiable pictures of its students without consent.
The thing is that these photos are from sort of a school event (it’s called “erasmus” idk how to translate it or if the term is already known outside of my country), and i’m in all of them. I don’t think they’d be willing to remove them because of me. The school’s interest by posting that was to attract more people that may be willing to join the school next year. I don’t think they will comply at all, and no, i didn’t sign anything and i’m 100% sure they don’t have my consent
So since you mention Erasmus, I’m guessing you’re in the EU.
For those unaware, Erasmus is an EU-wide foreign exchange program for students at
university level^see ^editIf you didn’t sign a waiver and request to be removed from their IG, they will comply. It’s literally illegal for them not to.
As you’re legally an adult, permission from parents doesn’t mean shit.It’s not even that big a deal for them. They can just use photos you aren’t even in, or crop you out of ones where you’re on the edge.
Don’t be afraid to stand up for your basic rights. There might be others that feel pressured just like you do. I had to do something very similar during my time at uni. I can tell you now, everyone respects, and no one fucks with, someone who can and will hit back.
EDIT. Correction: Erasmus was once university-only. It has since been opened up to secondary schoolers.
Great, thanks for the answer. But i need to make some sort of official request in order to be taken seriously, do i have to quote some specific GDPR laws in the email? I don’t want to ask it nicely and then wait for a response that goes “What ? Oh no, we can’t do that, you were part of the project of the school and the photos can’t be removed because it’s very important for the school to bla bla bla bla…”
The exact law you’ll want to quote depends on the exact country you reside in. GDPR itself is not a law, but an EU directive saying that all member nations have to put a law in their books with these specific conditions. So there’ll be a law in your country that has these clauses but might not be called GDPR.
Well but i can always rely on GDPR, right? I don’t know about any specific laws here in italy
Are your parents cool? If this happened to my kid and the school wouldn’t comply in removing them, I’d be raising a fucking storm. You could ask them for help, ask a lawyer, talk to the school, a teacher you trust or the principal, lie if you have to (my parents told me if this didn’t work, they would ask a lawyer for me, etc.) This is really uncool and I’d like to help.
My parents would probably not care, and not be willing to “”“waste”“” money on a lawyer for this. I can ask my uncle tho, he’s a lawyer
I would not go the route of getting a lawyer at this stage.
As others have pointed out, contacting your school is probably the best way. Also talk to your parents and your uncle.
They must comply, you can tell “buongiorno ho notato che sono presente in tutte le foto dell’evento, ma non ho mai firmato la liberatoria della privacy, è possibile oscurare il mio volto? Grazie”
So, unless your parents signed the form, they must comply, they will delete the pictures and upload new ones with your face censored. But yes, people will notice that the photos will be removed and your face censored, so you might be targeted as “that asshole that forced the school to delete the gallery”
Yeah huuh… that’s the problem. I’ll see what i can do about it. These fuckers bruh
I used to teach high school and have an advanced administrative degree. I highly doubt any school staff would think less of you for this, unless they’re exceptionally shitty people. I hosted some activities where pictures were taken, and if a student had returned later and requested one or more of them be taken down, I would have complied with no questions asked, even if consent had previously been granted by the student/their guardians.
While it’s true that there are some awful teachers and administrators, the vast majority wouldn’t have a problem granting a simple request like this.
I hope so, i really do
I hope so too. Since it’s the weekend, I’d try emailing whoever is in charge right now for your own peace of mind. I’m almost 100% sure they’ll take them down, no questions asked.
Yeah, the fact is that i don’t know who to contact. I’d have to wait for monday and ask them directly…
Oh, I see. Best wishes.
People downvoting you clearly don’t know that school administration can be into bullying as much as the kids. Talking by experience. I think you can report the images in Instagram by saying you’re in them and don’t want to be.
Already did that and i’m waiting… i gave them my email but i received nothing in my inbox yet
Previous marketer here. They likely chose photos that work well but have zero sentimental rational, they’re just doing a job. If you send a respectful email, they may be annoyed at the request but will probably be apologetic. Just be clear that for your own personal reasons you stay off social media sites and you would prefer to be removed. Don’t sweat too much, you’ll be fine.
Thanks
In your mind you have already been targetted by having your image somewhere you don’t want it.
Start by DMing the schools account and request that the following images be removed because they contain your likeness. Link the photos.
The school doesn’t need to make a big stink or even ask you why you don’t want to be seen online, it’s literally none of their business.
Whether they choose to respect your privacy is another story.
Should they fail to remove the photos, move on:
Contact the school administration office and ask that you would like to make a complaint about images posted on the Schools Instagram Account. When they ask why, explain that you would like x number of images removed because they contain your likeness. If they ask why further, explain that you do not want images of yourself online that you yourself do not control. End of story.
They can agree, or not, but I’m sure this would be better than going legal on them.
I would hope not. You just go to your counsoler and express your concerns
My local public school district takes student privacy seriously. They make an effort to track which students they have consent to feature in any media in order to avoid this and, as a district policy, ask for consent every school year to make sure consent doesn’t change.
Assuming you are a minor in the US.I would be very surprised if you or your guardians ask for your photos to be removed and the school didn’t cooperate.
It is a perfectly notmal request. Schools get these requests all the time.
Not in my school (italy), nobody gives a fuck about privacy. Shitheads be buying an iphone 15 just for social status, yet they can’t even spell one word of english without stuttering
It has nothing to do with other students though. The school itself is the one with the policy due to the laws surrounding the issue. The students are a whole different situation.
If they don’t agree to take it down tell them you don’t consent to it or something and you’ll get more involved in taking it down. Letting them know because of privacy will make it become more normalized. If more of your friends who were posted without their consent spoke up about it, this could be a serious issue and maybe they’ll even use pixelfed one day. It’s a long shot but little things like this will bring awareness to people.
For example, over the past few years I’ve been just living my life on a linux computer, grapheneos phone, using foss and encrypted messengers. My friends and family questioned it and I explained to them and a couple them now wanted to get started on this privacy journey. They’ll probably get their family and friends to take notice and explain it to them too, then, it’s a whole movement now.
Android is probably my biggest privacy hole right now. I’ve considered alternatives but none of them particularly appeal to me. I moved away from Gmail, Google Voice, Chrome/chromium, deleted Facebook, etc… But android has some deep tendrils.
What’s your take on Graphene?
Graphene is as good as it can get when it comes to privacy and security. You get lots of control over what apps can have permission to do like accelerometer sensors in addition to all the other controls regular phones get. It’s more stable than the last time I used calyxos. If I show my phone to people they see it as a regular Android phone and wouldn’t think twice about it. You can download apps through aurora store or google play store if you wish and there’s some kind of segmentation done if you choose to download from the latter.
Their website is good if you wish more information. https://grapheneos.org
ime grapheneos is awesome, and a lot easier/compatible than many think
I will definetly not back down. Your comment and many others helped me understand how important it is for me to stand up for myself in these kind of matters
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Stop going to school then
Too much internet for you today
I just got up
Indeed
Look at your school’s policy manual. There’s likely a policy regarding what they can and cannot do with images of students. Every school I’ve worked for has some kind of policy around this. In all of them I’ve read you can opt out of photos being published, but there’s usually a caveat that by participating in any school sanctioned event, participation is considered consent to be shown in photos and video of the event.
but there’s usually a caveat that by participating in any school sanctioned event, participation is considered consent to be shown in photos and video of the event.
This is pretty hostile. “If you attend any school events then we own your image”? The fuck?
As someone who had done photography for school events, thie policy exists because I don’t know one kid from another, and when I have dozens of shots with 400 kids in them, some are going to slip through the cracks when photos are posted online.
You could also just not post those photos online?
Or if you must make such a careleess decision, blur out evey childs face
Or maybe make free, optional events optional and ask that parents that have their kids participating with the waiver.
If it’s that important to keep your kids out of any photos, they shouldn’t be attending the events in the first place. Even if ai don’t post pictures online, SOMEBODY will.
I’ve done photography for events in very sensitive situations, including an event at a boarding school for abused children facility in a secret location where the identities of children are kept secret so their abusive parents can’t find them. In that case I framed shots to not include areas where the kids were located, cut the video recordings any time a kid went up on stage for any of the presentation, I cut any audio where any child’s voice was noticeable among the crowd or any times a name was heard. With weeks of proper planning it can be done.
And the next day there were hundreds of pictures all over Facebook b cause everybody has a camera a in their pocket and I can’t control for that.
Hard agree.
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That’s straight-up extortion and theft.
Out of curiosity, is it just rights to use or ownership rights? Not saying the former is good, but it’s still better than the latter.
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I mean, publics held functions usually mean to expected right to privacy, at least in the USA. No different than filming anything else in public.
I still would tell OP to check their handbook, and from there go the route of asking staff in the office if they can remove them.
In many cases, its a CYA policy just so they don’t have to ask permission for every single image. Hopefully they’re the respectful type that will either remove or blur the student upon request.
Yes, schools are businesses these days. Businesses don’t want to actually do effort to get consent.
They also don’t want to be sued, so yes, this is the lowest effort way to limit their liability.
In schools, they normally have parents fill out a form giving consent to use a student’s picture. There should be a way to revoke that consent.
It’s opt-out in a lot of districts now
Which country are you talking about? Us federal law required consent to opt-in. As far as I know, FERPA hasn’t received an update concerning that.
The US - with obvious exceptions, photos of students can be designated by a district as directory information (which many do, hence opt outs being common)
That’s interesting, I didn’t realize that a photograph counted as part of the directory information. I figured that was why photos are included in the list of items on the parent consent forms sent out every year.
It was my understanding (from admin, teacher professional orgs, and teacher unions) that pictures on websites and social media need consent to be posted. So we were told that any student without a consent form had to be edited out or blurred on any picture posted anywhere.
I’m from italy, i don’t think these kind of things exist in italian schools. At least i never saw them myself
You may be able to use GDPR to get them removed, but it may be easier just to get the school to take them down.
Pretty sure it’s mandated by the EU
If those are pictures in public places good luck. In a comment you said that those pictures are related to an erasmus experience (semester abroad), which probably means you signed some papers to do it (or your parents on your behalf) so you might have given your consent.
I wasn’t in the background, i was part of the photo. There are me and other 5 people or so
You can always retract consent and request deletion of personal data after the facts, no justification needed (GDPR article 17).
Schools have a duty of care to their students and there are plenty valid reasons to not want your face on the internet. E.g children who have been adopted from abusive families, threats made to children or their parents etc.
You can be polite about it and not confrontational. Just tell them that you’re unable to provide further information on it at the moment, but that you need them to take any photographs of you off the internet and refrain from posting anything in the future.
Let them fill in the blanks with whatever story they want.
You can be polite about it and not confrontational.
Really important. Coming from a place of mutual respect is a really nice - even underrated - way to make progress in the privacy space!
I agree to be polite. Respect has to be earned, though.
This mindset is ridiculous to me. If you bump into a person on the street are you going to put them through some weird test to make them earn your respect before you apologize? Should a child in school just disregard teachers instructions until they’ve earned his or her respect? How about we all just respect each other. This doesn’t mean you have to kneel down and worship everyone who crosses your path.
Depends on the definition of respect. It ranges from “not being an asshole to them” to putting them on a pedestal.
Being a teacher (or just being older) does not automatically mean you should be respected. All of my teachers in schools were worthy of respect, except two. One of them was a spiteful hag.
Depends on the country you live in and the legislation. Also it is possible that you or your parents signed something to give them consent.
This is true, but consent can be withdrawn.
Really? Can you back this up? So for istance if i signed something and i decide to withdrawn the consent, is it legit? Of which laws do i need to avail myself?
You may not need to do so legally, I believe you would have success speaking with someone at your school about it informally. If you are uncomfortable speaking with some of the people at your school, try to find someone you are comfortable with and raise the issue with them.
Laws and such depend on where you live, of course. Here in Sweden if your school publicly posts photos of you and you wish to have them taken down, they’re obliged to do so. That was the case during PUL, which the GDPR superceded a while ago. I’d assume something similar should apply for you even if you’re not in Europe. The school doesn’t own your image, and has no right to use it if you don’t want them to.
It can be withdrawn in other cases too. If you agree to a medical procedure but change your mind, you can withdraw consent. If you enter intimate relations with someone but wish for that to stop, you can withdraw your consent. If consent to someone borrowing your car, but find that they’re not doing so responsibly, you can withdraw consent.
It’s all fairly normal. Your easiest avenue to have the photos removed would be to just ask the school. “Hi, I saw you posted photos of me on Instagram and it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Would it be at all possible to have them removed, or crop me out, please?”
I’ve always hated having my photos taken, so when schools organised that kind of thing I was always adamantly against being in them. Apart from some “oh come on!” and “it’ll be a nice memory!” they’ve always respected it.
I live in italy
Then you can file a GDPR claim. That’s the last step on the escalation procedure, though. Start with nicely asking the school and if they don’t gomply: increase the (legal) pressure.
How does that work? I don’t want to ask directly to my school because they probably won’t care to comply with my demands. I don’t want to have any sort of direct contact with the school
Honestly, there’s not really a good way to do this anonymously without escalating it. You’re within your right to request that it be removed, and you don’t need a solid justification to remove it. I assume it’s just a random promo photo on their instagram? I don’t think they’d care much outside of just removing it.
probably won’t care to comply with my demands
Schools care (or want to appear that they care) about the privacy, safety, and comfort of their students. I think they’d just remove it if asked. You could also try speaking to whoever is running the account and ask them, if say you don’t want to reach out to the admin.
There’s a quick draft:
Hi _______, I saw I was in a recent photo that was posted to the ____ account. I would like to kindly request that the photo be removed, as I value my online privacy and I am trying to have control over where my images are shared. Please let me know if there’s anything else I should do to complete this process, and thank you for your help!
I don’t know man, my school is kinda goofy lol. They can’t even manage to get us teachers. But considering it’s just an email, i’ll definetly be trying that. Thanks
I imagine they can’t get lawyers either.
They don’t want to know what happens if they refuse, most likely.
Best of luck and hope it works out for you!
That’s the first step of escalation. If they don’t comply, you can threaten them with/kindly remind them of the italian data protection laws (you’d have to research those on your own). If they won’t comply then, you can issue a GDPR request. According to the GDPR, you can always demand your info being deleted. no matter, what you signed beforehand. If that fails: talk to the press and/or get a lawyer.
I don’t want to have any sort of direct contact with the school
Then how do you expect it to be taken down?
The school posted it, I assume, on an insta account they control.
You first step is to contact them directly and ask for it to be removed.
If you are not willing to do that, which I can understand, I am not sure how you proceed as I don’t know about the ins and outs of GDPR.
Then ask the pricipal to show you your written constent and make this gesture: 🤌
Nah that won’t work alone, i also have to say: “wuagliò ma c cazz ste disc🤌🤌 , naggh firmet nud!!”.
Which means something along the lines of: “hey man, the fuck are you sayin?? I didn’t sign anythin’!!”
If you live in Italy then you or your parents signed a release form that gave them the permission at the beginning of the year.
Otherwise they’re legally obligated to remove them
Source: I am Italian and I’m annoyed to sign that form every year
Nah they didn’t sign shit, my school is poorly organized
My child’s school sends out a clearance form at the start of every year asking for or to withhold consent. If your parent’s provided consent, I’m not sure what more you can do about it.
Generally, schools are a public space (unless you’re in private school). You have no right to privacy in public, nor do you have copyright on the photo. You can request they remove it here: https://help.instagram.com/contact/504521742987441?helpref=page_content but there is a good chance they won’t.
Edit: you live in Italy which has a specific law that photos of children cannot be published w/o permission. Just mention that and they’ll likely remove it.
Oh thanks for the link, i will try that and let you know
That is remarkably not the case in the European Union. There is no exception to GDPR with respect to public places. The only legal basis for using public personal data without consent is to do it under legitimate interest basis (GDPR article 6, very specific exceptions exist). In that case, you must use the public data in a way that the data subject would reasonably expect (GDPR recital 47). Taking a picture of somebody in a public place and sharing it without them knowing is definitely unlawful, assuming free consent was not given.
I’d talk to a counselor about it and explain how it makes you feel uncomfortable.
Lol nice letter, very professional
Odd thread for so many bootlicking attitudes.
What is that supposed to mean?
I’m just surprised so many people are on the side of corporations and bullshit contracts that allow this shit. People seem to be against their own freedoms as long as someone can paint it to them as a beurocratic issue instead of a morality.
Most schools track a students “publishing permission” or similar, basically a checkbox in their systems that says if a student/their parents have consented to allow pictures of the student to be published by the school. It could be that your parents did not opt out, or did opt to allow publishing pictures of you.
You should check with your parents and the school. If you’re afraid of retaliation and don’t want to check, there’s really nothing else to be done.
Not sure about how it is in your country but in Germany each state has a “Datenschutzbeauftragte*r” (data privacy commmisioner) employed by the state which you could contact with issues like this.
Burn your school down. #YOLO
but seriously tell them ( in writing) to take it down and if they don’t, get a lawyer to send them an official request to remove it. Or just fake an official letter, teachers aren’t going to question it’s authenticity.
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Get an attorney to send them a letter. It’s not childish if it comes from an attorney. They can also vet if you have a legitimate claim in your country.
Bro i’m literally a minor
There are no rules on who is allowed to ask for the help of an attorney. A letter like that is maybe $300.
And where should they get the money from?
