Did You Fall for This Viral Instagram Hoax?

BE CAREFUL! Everything from your Instagram account is going to be sold and used without your permission...or is it?

According to a viral message being shared by the likes of Julia Roberts, Rob Lowe, Judd Apatow, and more, your Instagram pictures are at risk. It says if you don't share this particular message, everything you've posted becomes public and able to be shared however Instagram wishes because that's what "Channel 13" is reporting on.

The message you'll probably start seeing, shared by Mashable, is:

Don’t forget Deadline tomorrow !!! Everything you’ve ever posted becomes public from tomorrow. Even messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. It costs nothing for a simple copy and paste, better safe than sorry. Channel 13 News talked about the change in Instagram’s privacy policy. I do not give Instagram or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. With this statement, I give notice to Instagram it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. ... NOTE: Instagram is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tacitly allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates.

Here's the thing, none of it is real. This message in various forms has been going around since at least 2012 and every so often, it becomes viral again. First and foremost, there's no way a copy and pasted block of text shared as a picture would hold any legal ground. Second, it always says "Tomorrow" but not the actual date, so if you shared it from someone who posted it yesterday, then you'd already have lost your photos. Third, and my favorite part, to give some validity to the message, they reference "Channel 13 News" but have no reference to where this Channel 13 is and just hope you happen to have news on that station.

If you're starting to see this, don't worry. If you share this, nothing is going to happen. You may just scare someone else into sharing this hoax post.