Instagram’s new ‘Map’ feature has users nervous about who’s watching – The Economic Times

Instagram has launched a brand new characteristic known as “Instagram Map”, just like Snap Map, permitting customers within the US to share their latest location and uncover content material based mostly on locations close by.

Nevertheless, the rollout has raised privateness considerations, with many customers fearing their precise location is being shared with out their consent. In response, Instagram head Adam Mosseri has clarified that location sharing is off by default and solely turns into lively if customers select to allow it.

Regardless of Meta’s reassurance, posts are spreading throughout social media urging folks to disable the characteristic.

One person, Lindsey Bell, replied to a warning video shared by ‘Bachelor’ star Kelley Flanagan on TikTok, writing, “Mine was turned on and my residence tackle was displaying for all of my followers to see. Turned it off instantly as soon as I knew however had me feeling completely sick about it.”

In her video, Flanagan described the brand new characteristic as “harmful” and confirmed viewers how to ensure it’s turned off.

Mosseri responded with a submit on Threads, saying, “We’re double-checking the whole lot, however to date it appears largely like persons are confused and assume that, as a result of they’ll see themselves on the map once they open, different folks can see them too.”

“We’re nonetheless checking the whole lot, although, to ensure no one shares location with out explicitly deciding to take action, which, by the way in which, requires a double consent by design (we ask you to verify after you say you wish to share),” he added.

Mosseri believes a lot of the concern is brought on by a misunderstanding of how the characteristic works. For instance, some customers see a populated map and assume everybody’s stay location is seen. In actuality, the map pulls location tags from latest Tales or Reels that embody a spot tag, not essentially real-time location information.

Nonetheless, many customers disagree, saying they’re not confused and claiming their location has been seen to others, even after the characteristic is manually turned off.

Instagram says the map solely updates a person’s location when the app is open or operating within the background, not like Snap Map, which permits customers to decide on whether or not their location is up to date solely once they open the app or in real-time.

Customers can even decide to not share their location in particular locations or with sure people.