Where is precise location on Instagram?

Social media apps like Instagram require access to users' location, but the permission can be easily revoked. Most social media platforms, cab aggregators and mapping services use a device's exact location to offer personalized services. However, even though many of these apps have access to precise location, it doesn't mean that other users have access to that information as well. That said, modern social media apps require a ton of permissions, including access to the phone's camera and microphone, meaning they can sometimes pose a privacy threat if not properly managed.

Instagram's location access became a massive controversy when an influencer with over 30,000 followers shared a warning about how the app reveals a user's exact location when they add a location tag. The post, which soon became viral and was shared by many other influencers, also claimed that the shared locations were being used by criminals to commit crimes, including theft, stalking, etc. The claims were fake, and were refuted by Instagram too, which said precise location was used for features like location tags and maps.

For users who remain unconvinced by Instagram's response to the controversy, turning off location permissions is fairly easy, and can be done on both Android and iOS. On iPhones, go to the Settings app, select 'Privacy' and then tap on 'Location Services.' On the next page, scroll down and choose Instagram. Select either 'Never' to turn off location services for the app entirely, or 'While Using the App' to only let the app access user location while it is being used. Users can also switch off the 'Precise Location' toggle at the bottom if they don't want to share their exact location with Instagram.

Turn Off Location Access For Instagram On Android

The option to turn off precise location is also available on Android, but the exact steps will vary from one brand to another. On most devices, users can go over to the Settings app on their phone, select 'Location,' and then go to 'Location Accuracy.' Finally, toggle off the 'Improve Location Accuracy' option, thereby ensuring that no app will be able to gain access to the user's exact location. However, while this will improve privacy, it could prevent certain apps, such as Google Maps, Uber, Doordash, or GrubHub, from functioning properly.

Instagram's default setting for location is 'Off,' but users can choose to turn on location settings whenever they post a photo to let viewers know where that photo was taken. Overall, keeping location services off for most apps is a good idea for safety and privacy reasons. Most apps do not need to know the user's precise location, and even the ones that do mostly need this information only when the app is being used. That means location access for apps like Instagram can be safely turned off when they are not in use.

Source: Instagram