All heavy Instagram users should heed this warning: the “Add to Photo Map” function may be showing your stalkers where you work, where you hang out, and where you live.
Here’s how it works:
Before posting a photo on Instagram, you have the option to “Add to Photo Map”. Usually, this isn’t a problem when posting your standard food shots from a restaurant, or selfies from the gym.
According to TrackMaven, since most Instagram photos are either posted during the weekends, or during the weekdays between 9pm to 8am, it’s safe to assume that most of us are posting from home.
But, when Instagram adds your photo to the map, it doesn’t geotag where the photo was taken – it shows where it was uploaded from.
That means if you’re prone to doing a photo dump on Instagram before going to bed at night, or sitting around on the couch on the weekend posting photos from earlier in the week, you may be inadvertently telling people of where you live.
Social media blogger Jenn Herman noted that Instagram has the highest social media engagement over the likes of Twitter and Facebook. This means that if your profile is public, you could possibly be telling very many people your most visited locations.
The obvious way to rectify this is to simply turn off the option to “Add to Photo Map” every time you post a photo in the future.
Here’s a rundown of how to delete geotags from older photos without actually having to delete the photos:
1) Find the location pin icon on your profile.
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2) The next screen that appears will be a map with all your geotagged photos. Continue to tap on the stack of photos with the highest number. This will zoom the map into the locations with the highest concentration of uploaded photos.
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3) The remaining stacks/locations with the highest number of uploads will most likely be your home and your office, if that's where you post the most from.
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4) To delete the geotags, tap on the “Edit’ button in the top right hand corner of the map. The numbers on the photos should turn green, and the "Edit" button should now say "Done".
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5) Tap the group of photos that you’d like to delete the geotags for, you'll be prompted to either "Edit" or "Zoom". Choose "Edit".
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6) A grid will appear with all the photos with checkmarks on the bottom right hand. Deselect the photos that are located near your home or office by tapping on them, and tap "Done".
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7) You will be prompted to confirm the removal of the geotags. Click “Confirm”.
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8) Enjoy a stalker-free life!
- Prepared by Global Media Staff Writer
