Instagram’s new Map function, which lets users share their current location with friends, has immediately raised privacy concerns among users and campaigners who worry that the technology may make vulnerable people more exposed to abuse and stalking.
The tool allows location sharing with mutual followers and shows any location-tagged posts, Reels, or Stories on a map interface for 24 hours following publishing. It was first made available to U.S. users on Wednesday. This new Map updates users’ current location everytime they open the app, in contrast to earlier Instagram location features that only displayed tagged content.
User Controls And Default Configurations
Instagram Head Adam Mosseri stressed that users must actively opt in to utilize the feature, which is “completely off” by default. Users have the option of sharing their location with close friends, followers they follow back, or a custom list of people they have chosen. Additionally, the business has put in place parental controls that alert parents when teenagers turn on location sharing.
Users must press the new “Map” option at the top of their inbox after navigating to their direct messages in order to activate the feature. Privacy advocates advise users to choose “no one” in the location sharing preferences to confirm that their settings are off.
Growing Opposition To Privacy
Social media users have been very critical of the launch; some postings asking followers to disable the function have received hundreds of thousands of likes. Snapchat’s contentious Snap Map feature, which was introduced in 2017 and raised similar privacy issues, has been compared by critics.
In May 2024, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri received a letter from two House legislators pleading with him to drop the proposed function, claiming that “geolocation surveillance of minors is an unnecessary violation of privacy”. Both Rep. Kathy Castor and Rep. Lori Trahan cautioned that the function may expose teenage users to “stalking, sextortion, and worse”.
Expert Alerts Regarding Safety Hazards
Privacy groups have called attention to a number of security issues that go beyond simple GPS tracking. It can be used by law enforcement to track your whereabouts. It might be used by advertisers to determine, “Oh, they frequently pass by this location.” A senior advisor for the Electronic Privacy Information Center explained, “Let’s flood them with advertisements for that location.”
Sensitive details about users’ everyday activities, such as where their kids go to school, where they get their medical treatment, or where they pray, may also be made public via the function. Every time a person opens Instagram, the Map keeps updating their location, even if they are not actively posting anything.
Advocates advise users to fully disable location services for Instagram in their phone settings to guarantee their whereabouts stay hidden, even though the program guarantees default privacy settings and user restrictions.