A feature is capable of recording and sharing the location of users. Simply opening the app is enough to report where you are. What to do now.
Imagine that you are leaving a cafe, phone in hand, and a friend sends you a message: “Hey, were you in Paris at noon?” You didn’t make a story, didn’t post anything. Yet someone knew where you were and at what time. This scene, which seems taken from a series on digital surveillance, could well become a daily reality for millions of Instagram users.
For several months, the Meta group platform has been rolling out a new function capable of identifying and sharing your location. No need to post anything: just opening the app can tell you where you are. Instagram doesn’t talk about following of course. Officially, it is an interactive map to get closer to your friends in the style of “Snap Map” or Find My geolocation on iPhone. On paper, the idea seems trivial: see who is in the area, meet friends at a festival or in a café, discover shared places. But behind this friendly approach lies a very real risk: the permanent sharing of your location. Every time you check Instagram, the app can update your location. Valuable data, not only for your contacts, but also for the advertising algorithm and, in certain cases, for malicious individuals.
The name of this feature? Instagram Friend Map. Deployed gradually since 2024, it allows you to share your precise location with a chosen circle. On paper, Friend Map is disabled by default. But if you have it enabled, it can continue to run in the background until you explicitly turn it off.
Here’s how to deactivate this card and protect your privacy:
- Open Instagram → go to your direct messages (DM).
- At the top, click on the map icon
- Tap on the Settings option. Choose “No One” to stop all location sharing, or limit it to a restricted list.
- On your phone (iPhone/Android), open System Settings → Apps → Instagram → Location and turn off “Precise Location” or select “Never”. And above all, check after each update
Remember, once activated, your location updates every time you use Instagram, often without you even thinking about it. The history of your locations is then displayed on a map visible to everyone. In short, this new option illustrates the fine line between sharing and caution, it is a useful reminder to stay in control of what you show and to whom.
