Instagram’s ‘precise location’ tracking is nothing new, here’s how to turn it off
A recent post warning of the dangers of Instagram’s seemingly new pinpoint location feature went viral on social media, shocking the entire internet community.
First posted on Instagram by Goal Digger Coaching, an influencer marketing company, they claim that the latest app update could leave users vulnerable to crimes like stalking and theft.
A wave of warnings about this privacy issue, calling for the precise location feature to be turned off, quickly spread among concerned social media users.
While Instagram denies such accusations, people concerned about their online privacy will be happy to know that there is a way to avoid tracking location data.
According to Instagram, there’s nothing to worry about
It’s fair to say that the social media platform didn’t take long to respond to concerns. In a tweet, Instagram reassured its users how the “precise location” is actually used.
“Be clear We don’t share your location with others. Similar to other social media companies, we use precise location for things like location tags and map features.
It also suggests people can customize their own location settings and tag locations in the posts they share only if they want to.
👋 We saw a meme about how Instagram uses “exact location”.August 25, 2022
What is “precise location”?
“Precise Location” is a tablet and smartphone tracking method provided by iOS and Android to allow apps you download onto your device to access your geolocation data.
Contrary to what the infamous post claims, this is the case Not a unique Instagram feature. Additionally, both Apple and Google have updated their privacy policies in recent years to give users more control over their own location data.
As Apple said during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2020, “This year we’re giving you even more control. In addition to being able to share your exact location, you have the option to only share your own approximate location with apps.”
Similarly, when it released Android 12 last year, Google emphasized the importance of user privacy as a focus. Every time you download a new application, your device will now ask an app for permission to access a feature of the phone — like your camera, microphone, or location details. Users can also choose to only share an approximate location with them.
Apple describes its approximate location as around 10 square miles, while Google says it’s around 1.2 square miles.
How to turn off Precise Location
While sharing your location with your Instagram or other apps like Google Maps and Uber doesn’t make you vulnerable to stalking or other real-world dangers, you might not always want to share your “precise location.”
As mentioned above, both iOS and Android offer users the ability to customize their data collection choices to suit their needs.
On iOS go to settingsopen privacy and then the location services Tab. Open Instagram here to turn that off Precise location Switch. Alternatively, go inside settings and scroll down to Instagram and type location.
If you have an Android device, continue settings and open the location Tab. Tap here Google location accuracy to turn off the precise location option. You can also go settings and then privacy to further customize app permissions and clear your Google location history.
It’s worth noting that some apps require your precise location to function effectively. These include Maps, Uber and Deliveroo.
In order to use their services, you need to re-enable your precise location. You can always turn this off if you don’t need it.
