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In order to better understand how different groups experience Instagram, the photo-sharing platform owned by Meta is starting to ask some users about their race and ethnicity.
The company said that if they don’t know people’s race or ethnicity, they will be limited in judging how their products affect different communities.
“To better understand the different experiences people may have on Instagram, we need to collect and measure demographic information, such as race and ethnicity,” the company said in a blog post.
“We will ask a random assortment of people on Instagram in the US to participate in an optional survey where they can share this information,” he added.
Over the next few months, people on Instagram in the US may see a prompt asking about their race or ethnicity. This leads to a survey conducted by YouGov, an international research group that helps companies conduct surveys safely.
Individual, de-identified responses will be collected by YouGov, encrypted and broken down into parts that will be stored at partner research institutions.
Instagram said it will only have access to aggregated information, meaning it cannot link people or their Instagram accounts to their individual responses.
“This information will allow us to better understand the experiences that different communities have on Instagram, how our technology may affect different groups, and if there are changes we can make to promote equity,” the company said.
