Instagram knows where you are, and now, so can anyone who you claim as a friend on the social media platform.
On Wednesday, Instagram rolled out a Map feature to U.S. users that will share your location in real time to mutual followers. The feature is not turned on by default, but once you grant people access, Instagram Reels, posts or stories with a location tagged in them can show up on a map for 24 hours after they were posted.
Instagram already allowed people to share their location in Direct Messages, but this new Map feature takes it one step further by sharing this information in a map format for mutual followers.
Although Map is described by Instagram as “a new, lightweight way to connect with each other,” that bid for connection can also expose where you live and where you regularly go to people and brands you would rather not have such specific data.
“Absolutely make the choice to have it off,” said Calli Schroeder, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
