Kim Kardashian Could Hold the Fate of Instagram In Her Corporate-Sponsored Hands

The internet was awash in anger and indignation on Dec. 17 when Instagram announced new privacy policy changes that seemingly allowed the hipster-friendly photo site to sell user-uploaded pics without permission or payment. In response, various celebs threatened to delete their accounts or stop posting altogether.

And right on cue, Kim Kardashian suddenly woke from a nap and -- realizing she'd missed an opportunity for media attention -- began blustering about it.

For its part, Instagram says its new policies, which go into effect Jan. 16, were widely misconstrued. The company promised there's no plan to sell any user photos and said it plans to rewrite the terms to make them less “confusing” to readers.

(They may or may not have said this while laughing maniacally and petting a white cat.)

But that wasn't good enough for Kardashian, who's telling friends she's considering switching to another service and taking all her followers with her.

That could actually be pretty damaging to Instagram. With almost 6 million people inexplicably watching her every uploaded move, Kim is the most-followed user on the Facebook-owned photo sharing service. And if Kim ends up leaving, her family could take her lead and bail too.

Bottom line: Instagram could see the max exodus of around 10 million Kardashian-obsessed fans.

Kim's holding off on a switch until the revamped policy is released, at which point an assistant will read and explain the new terms to her with a series of colorful flash cards.