Instagram says viral claims suggesting location tags in content can reveal users’ exact locations to be false.
Viral posts and videos have said that a “precise location” switch in the app’s location settings on iOS and Android devices could share someone’s exact location with other Instagram users.
Some viral posts suggested this resulted from an Instagram or iOS update.
But Instagram said this is not the case, and the feature does not share locations with other users.
What is ‘precise location’?
The setting was first revealed to iPhone and iOS device users in Apple’s annual operating system update, iOS 14, in 2020. Google rolled it out for Android 12 in 2021.
It allows users to provide some apps with a more accurate location.
While some view it as a controversial feature, it was praised when it was first released to improve user privacy on mobile devices because it offers an alternative to the blanket application of location services.
The setting is automatically enabled for users on apps permitted to access their location.
When turned on in an app’s location settings, it permits them to pinpoint an exact location using GPS for specific purposes, typically for travel or collecting background and private user data.
Its usage differs from app to app.
For instance, while Uber might use it to pinpoint your location when booking a ride, on Snapchat, it is harnessed for Snap Map – where users can show their location on a map to other users if they have given the app permission or are not in private “ghost mode”.
Its PR team, InstagramComms, added: “To be clear, we don’t share your location with others. Similar to other social media companies, we use the precise location for things like location tags and maps features.”
For instance, users with precise location switched on will see options for areas nearer to them when trying to add a geotag to an Instagram Story or post.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri quote-tweeted Instagram’s response, reiterating that location services are a device setting on phones, not a new Instagram feature.
“We don’t share your location with other people,” he added.
