Are Facebook and Instagram Tracking Your Precise Location? Maybe. Here’s How to Turn It Off

Do Instagram, Facebook and tick tock actually keep track of your exact location? Yes, but that doesn’t mean stalkers and criminals can see where you are.

A viral post making the rounds on Instagram and Twitter warns users that a recent iOS update is now allowing people to find your exact location on Instagram. The post claims that criminals are using this location information to break into homes and cars — but it’s just a rumor, and it’s not how accurate tracking works.

all especially london ppl! Go to settings and specific apps section and turn off Precise location. This allows other people (criminals!) to see your exact location even if you just tag “London”. I disabled it for Instagram, Bereal, Snapchat, Facebook and Facebook via pic.twitter.com/WAur1zo07l

— ellie ♡⋆.ೃ࿔* (@ellielovesdilfs) August 24, 2022

Typically, when you download a new app, you give it access to various features on your iPhone, including your microphone, contacts, photos, camera, and location. For example, an application may ask for your location to give you directions or to deliver food. However, apps can also use location information to collect data about where you go and then sell that data to third parties who can use it to tailor advertising to you.

With the release of iOS 14 in 2020, Apple changed how users can manage their location information. Instead of letting apps show you your exact coordinates, you can now turn off precise location tracking so apps only know roughly where you are instead.

Whether you’re worried about criminals or stalkers or not, you might still be scared that social media can see everywhere you go. If you want to stop precise location tracking, you can turn it off for any application on your iPhone as follows.

Continue reading: A Sneaky Piece of Data That Reveals Every iPhone Photo (And How to Turn It Off)

How to turn off your precise location on your iPhone

First, make sure you’re updated to at least iOS 14, then go to settings apartment Next, scroll down and find the app you want to block from knowing your exact location — like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. Tap the app you’re looking for, then go to location.

If you’ve given this application access to your location, you’ll see a check mark next to both Ask next time or when I share or While using the app. Below that, you will see the “Precise Location” feature. Uncheck the option to stop sharing your precise location with this app Precise location.

After deactivation, the app you have selected will only have access to an approximate determination of your location. Exact location uses GPS to track you to your foot, while approximate location uses Wi-Fi and cellular data to place you somewhere in a circle a mile or two in diameter.

While most apps don’t need your precise location, be warned that if you disable this feature for apps that to need Your exact work location – like Uber, Google Maps, or Doordash – you may have trouble with these services.