Kim Kardashian -- Instagram's New Policy Could DESTROY My Career

Kim Kardashian is afraid Instagram's new policies will torpedo the million-dollar empire she's spent years building -- and THAT'S why she's threatening to drop the photo-sharing app ... Kim tells TMZ.

Kim was out in L.A. yesterday when we asked about her tentative plans to bail on Instagram following a controversial change in the company's terms of service -- which seems to give the company power to sell user photos to outside companies without compensating the user.

Kim responded, "I just don't think they should have the right to sell [our photos] to advertising companies on our behalf. What if we don't want to advertise what they want?"

Kim's concern is pretty obvious -- she doesn't want her face promoting products that could damage her brand ... and if Instagram's got the power to use her face as it wishes, she wants no part of it.