Instagram has just announced an update to its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy which will go into effect starting January 16.

According to the popular photo-sharing service, Instagram has introduced this Privacy Policy update to better collaborate with Facebook, which purchased the app earlier this year.

Here’s the official word from Instagam’s blog:

Our updated privacy policy helps Instagram function more easily as part of Facebook by being able to share info between the two groups. This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used.

It would seem that the real difference lies in what Instagram does with your personal data. The company promises that you’ll still have complet control over who can see your content and where it is shared, but Facebook and Instagram will certainly be getting a bit more comfortable where user information is concerned.

Instagram has updated the “Information Sharing” portion of its current Privacy Policy to reflect its ties with Facebook. The clause used to mention sharing certain bits of information with “Service Providers” or other “organizations that help us provide the Service to you.” That has been edited to say the following.

We may share User Content and your information (including but not limited to, information from cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data, and usage data) with businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that Instagram is part of, or that become part of that group (“Affiliates”). Affiliates may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service (including by providing analytics) and Affiliates’ own services (including by providing you with better and more relevant experiences). But these Affiliates will honor the choices you make about who can see your photos.

Instagram’s “Information Storage” section also accounts for Facebook, adding an “affiliate” mention to the part where Instagram explains that it can transfer the data it collects on you, “including personal information across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world.”