This is an archived article and the information in the story may be outdated. Please check the time stamp on the story to see when it was updated last.
One of the easiest settings to overlook when you’re using a social media site is locations. Unbeknownst to you, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram could have access to your whereabouts, and you may be unaware of the risks involved. Here’s the real reason you should never share your location with Facebook/Snapchat/Instagram.
Every time you share a photo on one of your favorite social media platforms, you are given the option of sharing the location in which that photo was taken. In many cases your phone provides this information for you. If you use Snapchat, you can take things one step further by letting your followers know exactly where you are while you live stream.
Be extremely careful with your location information. For one thing, you could be letting your followers know where you live, or where your children go to school. They may be able to put together the patterns of your day — where you stop for coffee in the morning, where you work, or where you go after work. It’s one thing posting a photo from a museum after you’ve returned home, and another posting photos from your vacation while you’re still vacationing. The latter leaves you more vulnerable in the eyes of identity thieves who might want to target your home.
There are a few ways you can protect yourself online and not share your location on social media platforms. The easiest way is by not manually sharing your location. When you post a photo, don’t include the location. You can also go through each social media app to make sure location settings is turned off for each one.
To protect yourself even more, turn off location settings on your phone. On an iPhone go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and make sure it’s toggled off. On an Android, open Settings and go to Connections or Privacy. Tap Location and toggle it off. These extra steps will help keep you and your identity and location protected.
