We’re not one for scare mongering over here on xameliax but today we found out something pretty darn worrying about one of our favourite apps Instagram – it could be sharing your address with the world.
I love instagram and I’m always snapping away on @xameliax but I rarely ever use the location tag unless I’m at a specific event I’d like to share. Little did I know until today that thanks to a little thing call geotagging, all my photos were being added to a little stalkers dream map without me realising…including those sent from my work and home address, and it’s probably happening to you too.
How To Remove Geotags On Photos
1. Go to your profile and click on the little grey location button in-between the list view and your tagged photos tab. If this is completely grayed out and not clickable at all then you’re all good – no stalky map for you.
2. If your photos are being geotagged you will see a map of pictures sent from various locations you’ve been, which you can zoom right in on – scary as hell. Check all over the map to see which of your photos have been tagged.
3. Click on edit in the top right hand corner of your screen and the numbers in the corners of your photo clusters will turn green. Click on a cluster you want to remove and press edit.
4. It’s not overly apparent how to remove tags at this point but it can be done – simply click ‘Deselect All’ and press Finish at the top of the box and a prompt will come up asking if you would like to remove the geotags on your selected photos. Press Confirm and the photos will disappear from your map.
Don’t worry, your photos are all still there but they’re no longer on your photo map giving away your location. Remember to check for holiday photos and others in locations from when you’ve been out and about if it’s somewhere you’re planning to return or visit often – it’s very easy for someone to guess where you’ll be going next if they spot a pattern with your photos on the map and it’s terrifying how closely you can zoom in.
How To Stop Future Posts From Being Tagged
To stop future photos from being added to your photo map without you realising simply go to your Iphone Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Instagram > and switch it to Never under ‘Allow Location Access’. You won’t be able to add a location anymore in the app when you want to check in somewhere but for me I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Let me know if this post has helped – tweet me @xameliax or leave a comment below and make sure you share it using the social buttons at the bottom of this post so we can all stay Instagram safe.
It’s so important to stay safe online especially in today’s social media world but don’t let it put you off your favourite apps altogether. If this has helped I’d love it if you’d come follow me @xamelix on instagram and join my little photo family!
xax
[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_url=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Instagram is telling people WHERE YOU LIVE!!! Remove your secret Geotags NOW and stay safe online: http://wp.me/p4XuOi-3EO (via @xameliax)[/tweetthis]