Instagram recently added a number of new features, including sharing your location. While some additions – such as reposting – were welcome, location sharing sparked concerns.
The new Instagram map feature allows the people you are connected to on the social media platform to see your location – and you can see theirs. Instagram has pitched this as being useful to parents, but many users are worried about the privacy implications of location sharing.
Although Instagram says that the location sharing map feature is optional and opt-in, some people have found that it has been automatically enabled on their accounts. If you want to broadcast where you are to people this is great but, if not, it’s worth checking what settings are in place – regardless of whether you have not changed anything.
The good news is that even if Instagram map is enabled, you location is only shared with and is only visible to your contacts. And unless you are very careless about who you have in your Instagram friends, this should not be a massive cause for concern.
However, privacy is important. You may well oppose the idea of letting even your friend know where you are at any given moment.
Stop Instagram sharing your location
Instagram is in the process of rolling out the location sharing of Instagram map, and as this is a gradual process there is a chance the feature is not even available on your account, let alone active.
You can check by firing up Instagram on your iPhone or Android device and then heading to the messaging section by tapping the button to the upper corner of the app. From here you can then tap Map and start to configure or disable the feature.
Tap the gear icon in the top right to open Settings and then choose between location sharing with friends, followers you follow back, Close Friends, selected friends, or no one.
It is important to note that this is not really a live location sharing feature. It was not meant to be. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri took to Threads to respond to privacy fears.
He wrote:
Nobody is trying to shift blame. Best we can tell most of what’s happening is people are tagging stories and posts with location, and then when they – or their followers – see those stories and posts on the map they assume the author is sharing their live location, which is not the case. We can, and will, make it easier to understand exactly what’s happening.
In a follow-up post he added:
So, we need to do a better job making sure (1) people understand when they tag a location that that shares not just the name, but the actual location, and (2) when you see a location tagged story or post on the map that that is *not* the person’s live location. We’re hoping to get some improvements out early next week.
Some people remain unhappy with the mere existence of the feature, even though it can be disabled.
If you are concerned, at least you know that it can be turned off from within the app. And if you have particularly great concern, you can always head to app permissions and stop Instagram from ever being able to share your location.
In all of this, it is important to remember that Instagram is a social network, and social networking platforms are about sharing. If you’re not happy with sharing, just don’t – or take the time to reevaluate your list of friends and see if this is the problem rather than the feature itself.
You are in control.
