But the real question of legality where Instagram Pro is concerned revolves around copyright and terms of service violations perpetrated towards Instagram itself. The description of Instagram ProInstagram Professional (InstaPro) is currently the most popular unofficial, modified version of the famous social network in question. But it is highly questionable if this form of processing can be considered as legal.
Users are in violation of Instagram's terms of service, which forbid users from using unauthorized versions. During 2021, Instagram worked to disable more than 1.5 million accounts globally due to violations of these terms specifically related apps that interfere with the services TikTok provides. These apps can get you suspended, banned for life and even sued if using them has dire consequences such as unauthorised data collection so say TechCrunch that also watered it down to only be considered malware in 'the worst case scenario.
In terms of trademark, the Instagram Pro is an unauthorized derivative work based on Meta's (yes that one) original property. In other words, this is a clear violation of copyright law because the app differs from Instagram in terms of codebase and UX/UI design. The Verge noted that releasing or promoting those altered apps might open devs to legal consequences, like getting sued and hit with cease-and-desist orders.
It even sidesteps two of the key monetization features for Instagram — ads, something which is quite vital to how it rakes in money. In fact, eMarketer found that 98% of Instagram's revenue comes from advertising—so ad-blocking features in an unauthorized app like Instagram Pro would directly cripple this (found to be very lucrative) business model. This brings up ethical and legal issues, because using such apps denies income to the creators of content or enterprises that provide their services for free.
Instagram Pro is surprisingly a legal app because of the data privacy laws. This is an unofficial app, not bound by the same regulations and oversight that governs Instagram's official product (which has to play nice with worldwide data protection standards like GDPR). Data breaches—or worse—have accompanied nearly 40% of altered APKs, the majority user security and privacy at risk (Norton 2023). The use of these apps could land people in trouble as legal experts caution risk for identity theft, data robbery and other cybercrimes.
While tempting based upon additional features, Instagram Pro presents significant legal risks. Since the app is not officially approved by Meta and violates Instagram's terms of service, it poses a risk to end-users. Those that want to learn more about instagram pro can find out how at their website.