Myanichol, an Instagram user who self-identifies as an expert and business coach on the platform, wrote lengthy postings regarding how the service reveals users’ locations a few days ago. A recent iOS upgrade, according to the user, will allow users to pinpoint their precise location using Instagram. She continued by saying that if you use a location tag on Instagram, your precise location rather than a general area will be displayed. She then advised consumers to disable the precise location feature on their iPhones.
Adam Mosseri, the CEO, has now responded in response to the post’s virality. Mosseri denied disclosing people’s geolocation on Instagram in a tweet. He wrote “Wanted to share this for clarity. Location Services is a device set on your phone, not a new feature from Instagram, and it powers things like location tags. We don’t share your location with other people.” Instagram too shared from its official account that the photo-sharing app uses precise location for things like location tags and maps features. “People can manage Location Services via their device settings, and tag locations on their posts if they want to share that information.”
“According to Instagram, they don’t share your “precise location” but simply the location YOU choose to share and tag in your content I’m not a data or online security expert but I’d assume, like all data online, it is still tracked and could be found + used. I believe that “precise locations” should be turned off and awareness around this setting and others that effect online safety need to be talked about more,” she wrote.
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