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New updateInsta and Facebook locate you to the nearest metro: “It’s scary”
Social networks have access to the precise location of users. Some find it scary and take action.
- par
- Michelle Bucher
- Cristina Pirskanen
- Do you live
On Instagram it has been possible – for several years now – to indicate the position of a publication. Everyone can see where the photo was taken. This feature also exists on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and WhatsApp. By installing this application and creating an account, you accept this condition, among others.
However, after the latest smartphone software updates, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp now log the exact contact details. Explosive fact: none of the users were informed or had to give their consent after the software update. Many people are therefore unaware of this “tracking”.
“Many people have not noticed anything”
Chanelle W., 14, had not been aware of this news for a long time. When she heard the German-speaking one, she got worried. “That scares me. That’s why I decided to turn this setting off,” he says. “What’s scary is that a lot of people haven’t noticed.” Teen admits that most people are aware that many apps they have their own approximate location data, but having the exact coordinates now broadcast to Instagram would be too much for her and her circle of friends.
“Instagram, like other social networks, collects data everywhere: GPS location, Wi-Fi access points, mobile phone or Internet provider, IP address: these are just a few examples taken from Instagram’s data protection declaration”, explains the lawyer Denis F. Berger. According to him, the biggest problem is that users communicate a lot of information about themselves, for example when they checked in at the airport, when they ate at such a restaurant or who they had a drink with on the beach.
Location not shared
Instagram defended itself already in August, when the first accusations were made. The company then said: “I want to be clear: we do not share your position with others. Like other social media companies, we use exact location for things like location tags and mapping features. ”The precise location feature wouldn’t necessarily be new either – the feature would already be introduced in 2020 with iOS 14.
