Instagram Launches Race And Ethnicity Survey To Understand Users’ Experiences

Instagram has launched a user survey in partnership with YouGov to understand better how people from different communities experience the app. 

The initiative, which highlights the company’s efforts to build a more “fair and equitable” platform, will prompt users to participate in an optional survey about their race and ethnicity. According to Instagram, information from the survey will help them better understand different communities’ experiences with the app. 

The survey will show up at the top of users’ feed and will lead directly to a YouGov survey. According to the platform, the responses will be encrypted and only shared with the platform’s research partners, Oasis Labs, University of Central Florida, North-Eastern University, and Texas South University. 

“We know that groups that have been historically marginalized disproportionally contribute to creativity, to pushing culture forward,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri. 

“So it’s in our interest to ensure that Instagram is as great an experience as it can be for all communities. And one key thing here is race. And race is complicated, but if we’re going to make sure that Instagram is fair and equitable as an experience, we need to understand how it’s working for different communities.”

Instagram says responses will not remain in its system and will be deleted by YouGov 30 days after. Instagram’s Equity team, whose work focuses on “ensuring fairness and equitable product development,” will oversee the program.