Instagram Maps feature arrives in India: pros, cons and safety tips you should know
Instagram has begun the rollout of its Maps feature to India in order to allow users to share their location in real-time with their friends and family. The new feature was first rolled out to users in the US and Canada in August and will be available to all users worldwide.
The Meta-owned social media giant states that it has taken many privacy-related measures since the rollout of the app in the US, but a number of concerns have been raised about the feature since its launch.
Instagram Maps feature privacy concerns:
The Maps feature shows the geo-tagged location of the user for a period of 24 hours, and while Instagram says it has taken various steps to cull the misuse, there could be some possible threats still remaining.
1) Stalking:
Real-time location sharing could enable stalking or harassment threats, especially if users overshare or leave the location open to a wider audience. The threat is ever more present for minors who might be sharing their location in order to get in with the latest trend on the social media platform.
2) Data misuse:
Meta has a controversial history of handling user data. The company recently announced that it will cater ads and personalized content to users based on its conversations with its AI chatbot. Given that context, it’s hard to imagine Meta not using the Maps feature to target ads or, in the worst case, sell data to third parties.
3) Breach risks:
Real-time location data is extremely sensitive, perhaps even more so than other personal data. If Meta stores this data centrally, it could become a honeypot for bad actors. While it may be a stretch to think so, if hackers get their hands on this data, they could get access to historical location patterns that can reveal home addresses, workplaces, and routines of the user.
What steps has Meta taken?
The location sharing feature is turned off by default, and users have to turn it on intentionally in order to get going.
Parents will also get a notification when their teen tags their location on Instagram, and they will have the ability to turn it off.
Brett Westervelt, VP, Head of Instagram Design, revealed in a blog post that the company has made two changes from the US and Canada rollout. First, users will get a more persistent indicator at the top of the map and the top of the inbox, with an additional note reminding users whether or not they are sharing location.
Second, when users go to tag content on Instagram with a location, they are reminded that this location will be visible for 24 hours.
The company says that it will also show an ‘educational reminder’ that when the user adds a location tag to a story, reel, or post, it will show up on the Map.
Privacy tips to keep in mind:
If you are concerned about your privacy, it may not really be a good idea to go on sharing your real-time location with the whole world.
Instead, you may wanna limit the location feature to a select set of close friends.
Adding a location tag to a Story/Reel/Post will place that content on the Map, so use the new preview feature to see how it will appear after being posted.
The new banner on the Map and the Notes tray should give you sign on whether you are sharing your location or not.
