Instagram’s new Maps feature lets users share their real-time or recent location with selected followers, but it raises privacy and safety concerns. Since it’s release on August 6, social media has been buzzing with locations of high-profile people, including Shawn Mendes, who was spotted in Budapest.
Cybersecurity experts are concerned and urge to pay attention to the feature. For example, CEO of Saily, Vykintas Maknickas, comments:
“Personal safety is the number one priority. Real-time location sharing exposes your precise position down to streets and buildings. You’re losing your privacy — your residence, workplace, places you like to spend your free time become public. It can expose you to unwanted attention from stalkers, abusive exes, or others with bad intent. It’s especially dangerous for underage or high-profile users.”
“Bad actors can exploit the Maps feature to spy on others — it essentially gives a shortcut to one of the most valuable pieces of information: your location, and possibly your routine. A stalker could collect enough information to determine where you live, work or study, making “accidental” in-person meetings easy.”
“Because of these risks, it’s important to manage the feature carefully. You can turn off the Maps feature entirely or choose specific friends to share your location with — both essential steps for a less invasive experience.”
“Private accounts mean only approved followers see your updates. However, a stalker could be someone you already approved or hide behind an account pretending to be your friend. This “trusted circle” can create a false sense of security, encouraging you to share more. However, even if a handful of people can see your location, it only takes 1 screenshot for it to get public.”
“Location sharing could also be used to determine when you’re not home. For example, if your location shows that you’re on vacation, that means that no one’s home — your residence becomes a target.”
“Social engineering is also a risk. Having your current location can help bad actors to create believable scams. For example, they might send you fake messages from businesses you actually visited.”
“If you choose to post with a location tag, my biggest advice would be simple: Don’t post at the moment. Just wait until you’ve left the place, and then feel free to share your memories. Also, limit who can view your stories or posts, and don’t assume default settings have your back.”
“Review everything carefully before posting and watch your videos or photos with a critical eye — sometimes you could be surprised by what you might unintentionally reveal. And, of course, avoid tagging places you visit regularly, blur out any signs, street names, shop fronts, house numbers, or license plates that could give away your exact location.”
My advice would be to turn this feature off. Here’s instructions on how to do that. This is a potential risk to users, and risk should always be mitigated whenever possible.
Related
This entry was posted on August 8, 2025 at 9:01 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Instagram. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Instagram’s new Maps feature exposes user locations
Instagram’s new Maps feature lets users share their real-time or recent location with selected followers, but it raises privacy and safety concerns. Since it’s release on August 6, social media has been buzzing with locations of high-profile people, including Shawn Mendes, who was spotted in Budapest.
Cybersecurity experts are concerned and urge to pay attention to the feature. For example, CEO of Saily, Vykintas Maknickas, comments:
“Personal safety is the number one priority. Real-time location sharing exposes your precise position down to streets and buildings. You’re losing your privacy — your residence, workplace, places you like to spend your free time become public. It can expose you to unwanted attention from stalkers, abusive exes, or others with bad intent. It’s especially dangerous for underage or high-profile users.”
“Bad actors can exploit the Maps feature to spy on others — it essentially gives a shortcut to one of the most valuable pieces of information: your location, and possibly your routine. A stalker could collect enough information to determine where you live, work or study, making “accidental” in-person meetings easy.”
“Because of these risks, it’s important to manage the feature carefully. You can turn off the Maps feature entirely or choose specific friends to share your location with — both essential steps for a less invasive experience.”
“Private accounts mean only approved followers see your updates. However, a stalker could be someone you already approved or hide behind an account pretending to be your friend. This “trusted circle” can create a false sense of security, encouraging you to share more. However, even if a handful of people can see your location, it only takes 1 screenshot for it to get public.”
“Location sharing could also be used to determine when you’re not home. For example, if your location shows that you’re on vacation, that means that no one’s home — your residence becomes a target.”
“Social engineering is also a risk. Having your current location can help bad actors to create believable scams. For example, they might send you fake messages from businesses you actually visited.”
“If you choose to post with a location tag, my biggest advice would be simple: Don’t post at the moment. Just wait until you’ve left the place, and then feel free to share your memories. Also, limit who can view your stories or posts, and don’t assume default settings have your back.”
“Review everything carefully before posting and watch your videos or photos with a critical eye — sometimes you could be surprised by what you might unintentionally reveal. And, of course, avoid tagging places you visit regularly, blur out any signs, street names, shop fronts, house numbers, or license plates that could give away your exact location.”
My advice would be to turn this feature off. Here’s instructions on how to do that. This is a potential risk to users, and risk should always be mitigated whenever possible.
Share this:
Like this:
Related
This entry was posted on August 8, 2025 at 9:01 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Instagram. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.