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When I heard that Facebook had brought my beloved Instagram; I was shocked, angry, sad, and finally at peace. Someone told me those are similar emotions felt when you lose a loved one. It was enough to open the floodgates to Android. I was happy for that move but to sell out to Facebook is taking a big plunge into the unknown. Everyone is aware of the privacy issues Facebook has. That is the reason I hardly use the social network.

Instagram is a model of what all programs hope to be. Loved and valuable. Instagram managed to attract not only a loyal but dare I say rabid fan base. The side effect of that success was the release of a plethora of clones on the AppStore harping for some of the spotlight. None however could manage to shine brighter than the original.

What I noticed right away was that Instagram had no advertisement. No pop-ups, not so much as a in app upgrade feature. The app it’s self was free to download. So, that’s millions of users on a nonmonetized app. Surely there must be a plan to cash in. It seems there was a plan brewing behind the curtain. One wonders how many meetings Instagram had with Facebook before papers were signed. Was the release of an Android app a stipulation of the deal or was it a show of good will? Did millions of downloads overnight jack up the asking price?

1 billion dollars!? That’s $1,000,000,000 for what can best be described as Flickr with filters mixed with Twitter. To be fair, to Facebook that’s pocket change. Never the less, Facebook does not spend money without a plan. Look for tight integration between Instagram and Facebook. Further integration means full out control by Zuck and company. That is a red flag for me. I’m one of those people that like to get into things before they become trends and ruined; I mean part of pop culture.

Instagram has lost that hip and exclusive feel for me. Not to mention my concerns with how Facebook will analyze my pictures. If you’re like me and want to jump ship but need a lifeboat for your pictures; rejoice for there is hope. Like the Holy Trinity there are 3. Three options to take your pictures with you. Copygr.am, InstaBackup and Instaport. The latter has gone down due to high traffic. I tried all three and Copygr.me had all my pictures, over 400 of them in my inbox within 5 minutes. Don’t frank out, you get a zip file. Even if you don’t leave Instagram, it’s good practice to backup your pictures before Facebook closes the API.

By Rubens Saintel

Proud father, #Haitian, photographer, consultant, writer & entrepreneur. I love video games, movies, plays, technology (surprise), beta testing apps and all things sci-fi. SaintelDaily.com |AppleWatch101.com | NBA101.com