Despite the Iranian government's crackdown on Instagram and other social media platforms, tens of millions of Iranians are still using the image-centric platform, according to Meta, the parent company of Instagram.

The platform has been widely used by Iranians to shed light on the protests and the brutal response to them, and people have also shared Instagram footage of the protests with international media outlets, many of whom can't report directly from Iran.

Citizens are finding ways to access the platform, including using virtual private network software and a "light" version of the Instagram app. Meta has put policies in place to remove posts that "outs" activists and journalists.

Hashtags related to the protests in Iran have been used on Instagram more than 160 million times since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in September.