One service missing from Windows Phone is Instagram. Despite pressure from Nokia, Facebook still has not released an Instagram client with support for Microsoft’s mobile OS. As a result, Windows Phone owners have turned to third-party clients to post to the image sharing service. Apparently, Facebook doesn’t like these Windows Phone clients and is deleting their photos shortly after they are uploaded.
As reported by The Verge, customers who use Instance, a popular third-party Instagram client for Windows Phone, are able to upload photos and can view them when they are in their own profile. Publicly, the photo is missing and the URLs to the file no longer work.
This comes down to usage rights and how much control a service exerts over its API. Instance developer Daniel Gray confirms his app is using the private Instagram API without approval and does not fault the service for blocking his app. Unfortunately, customers are caught in the crossfire of this API battle and have no alternative when Instagram won’t even release its own Windows Phone client.
Update: Instagram reached out to confirm that it is not targeting one platform or one app. The company just tightened the strings on the unauthorized use of its API and a bunch of apps may have gotten caught up in this dragnet. It provided the following official statement.
“We recently made an update to the systems that we use to fight spam to help prevent future attacks and increase security. As part of this, applications accessing Instagram against the terms of our API may also be affected. This update does not specifically target any particular app or platform.”