Instagram User Data from 2020 US Election Deactivation Study

Data from the 2020 U.S. Facebook and Instagram Election Study, a partnership between Meta and academic researchers. It contains aggregated log data from Instagram user accounts of participants in a deactivation experiment, focusing on political attitudes and behaviors.

Use Cases

• Analyze aggregated log data patterns from participant accounts to study platform engagement changes during the deactivation experiment.
• Investigate correlations between political attitudes and user behavior metrics captured in the participant account data.
• Model the impact of Instagram deactivation on political behaviors using the experiment's participant-level aggregated data.

Strengths

• Data originates from Meta Platforms, Inc., providing direct platform-level user data.
• Part of a formal academic partnership study focused on the 2020 U.S. election context.
• Dataset was last updated in February 2026, indicating potential maintenance.

Limitations

• Specific data structure is unknown, including row count, column names, and file formats.
• The aggregated nature of the log data may limit granular, time-series analysis of user actions.
• Focus on a single election period and U.S. geography limits generalizability to other contexts.

Provenance

Source

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Collection Method

Aggregated log data from Instagram user accounts of participants in a deactivation experiment.

Time Range

Centered around the 2020 U.S. election period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-02-23.

Geography

United States