Instagram’s New Location Sharing Feature Raises User Fears Over Privacy Risks and Safety of Personal Information

Instagram just added a new function that lets people share their location, but instead of excitement, it has made a lot of users worried. People are worried that the popular app might be putting them in risks by showing where they are without their knowledge.

Last week, Instagram added a new function that lets users post their location on Instagram map.It functions a lot like Snapchat's location-sharing tool, which has been around since 2017. However, shortly after the introduction, a lot of users were startled to learn that their location details was public. Some people said they didn't even know the feature was activated when viral posts started going around.

Lindsey Bell, an Instagram user, said that all of her followers could see her home address. She stated she switched it off right away after she realized. People online said the same things as well.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, stated on Threads that location sharing is deactivated by default in response to the controversy. He said that the feature only works if the user chooses to turn it on, and even then, only certain friends can see it.  Instagram also noted that the point of this service is to help friends connect and share interesting places, not to invade privacy.

However, this new function comes at an inappropriate moment for Meta, the company that owns Instagram. U.S. federal jury ruled against Meta just last week in a lawsuit about women's health data that was gathered through the Flo app. The jury said that Meta had used personal health data to show people advertising. The women's lawyers claimed that this was not just about misusing data, but also about "dignity, trust, and accountability."

The consequences in that case haven't been settled yet, but the situation adds to the ongoing argument over whether huge digital companies like Meta are really protecting customers' privacy. Many people are once again wondering how safe their personal information is now that Instagram has added this new feature.

Information referenced in this article is from The Hindu