Instagram denies a viral post that claimed the app shares your location with followers
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and Instagramâs social media team are refuting claims that the Instagram app is tracking location data and sharing it with followers looking for your exact location.
A post went viral claimed âa recent iOS updateâ has made it so that âpeople can now find your exact location from Instagramâ. This prompted many people to go into their phoneâs Instagram app settings and disable location permissions for the app.
Instagramâs Comms Twitter posted about the viral post, clarifying what Instagramâs policies on location data are.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri explains that Instagram device location powers location tag features but the app wonât a userâs location with other people.
A viral Instagram post isnât always the best place to find reliable information â a verification of information is in order. The original post never mentioned whether such a location feature was Instagramâs doing, instead it refers to âa recent iOS updateâ with no basis.
If you are concerned an app is using your location, you should disable it from your devicesâ app settings. Both iOS and Android also offer options to share approximate location (instead of a pinpoint), and both can record history logs of which apps are accessing location data.
Via | Viral post (updated caption)