Here's how to tell if someone has taken a screenshot of your Instagram photos

This is terrifying.

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(Image credit: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

This is terrifying.

There is nothing better than a good old social media stalk – trawling through Instagram photos and Instant Messenger conversations with our exes and taking screenshots to send to our friends.

Whether it's for advice, comfort or for the occasional laugh, taking screenshots has become an efficient way of sharing news and updates on other people - that is, provided the photographer in question doesn't know that you're photographing their posts.

That, however, is all about to change, with this new Instagram function.

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With technology growing at an extreme pace, nothing is impossible and it seems that there are more and more ways to tell is someone is stalking you online. We all remember the panic a few years back that our most searched Facebook friends would be revealed and that our private messages would be publicised.

The latest scare, however, involves Instagram, with a new function on the app notifying people when someone has taken a screenshot of their photo.

The new function doesn't apply to Instagram feeds just yet, currently limited to Instagram Messenger, but people are speculating that it won't be long.

From now onwards taking a screenshot of an Instagram message or photo via the messaging site will mean that the person in question is notified.

If you'll excuse us, we're off to 'unfollow' all of our exes - just in case.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.