A new scandal has erupted in social media surrounding the popular platform Instagram. Users, particularly in Ukraine, have begun to complain en masse about the new Instagram Map feature. Instead of the promised convenient navigation tool, the service has launched a passive tracking mechanism that automatically broadcasts a person's coordinates every time the app is opened.
Information about the problem went viral after a post on the social network Threads. A user with the nickname psy.friendly_margarita was the first to point out the hidden threat, which was subsequently reported by RBC-Ukraine. The feature is integrated into the top part of the Messages (DM) tab and is positioned as an extension of familiar statuses, but its operation has critical differences from the stated functions.
Active Choice vs. Passive Surveillance
The essence of the conflict lies in the mixing of two fundamentally different geolocation technologies. The first is active, where the user decides themselves to mark their location in stories, posts, or reels. This is a conscious step that gives control over the information.
The second is passive, and it is this one that has caused a wave of indignation. Instagram automatically records and broadcasts the user's last known location to friends every time they open the app. This happens even if the person is simply scrolling through the feed and not publishing any content. Without a careful manual check of the settings, precise coordinates become accessible to everyone on the list of mutual subscriptions: from ex-partners and colleagues to random acquaintances.
The Privacy Trap
Cybersecurity experts call this approach classic manipulation. Tracy Chow, founder of the service Block Party, notes that developers use a standard tactic: they declare simple control over privacy, but make the settings so confusing that users by default give away significantly more sensitive data than they intended.
The organization Common Sense Media warns of serious risks, especially for teenagers. Constant tracking can become a tool for cyberbullying and even physical stalking. In the context of toxic relationships, such a feature turns into a "digital leash," stimulating psychological abuse and controlling behavior.
Safety Threats in Wartime Conditions
For users in combat zones, such as Ukraine, the issue of geolocation goes beyond mental comfort and becomes a matter of physical safety. Constant geotracking leaves a digital trail that can be used by the enemy for reconnaissance. Regular routes reveal home addresses, workplaces, as well as visits to doctors or psychotherapists, creating a ready-made "map of life" for malicious actors.
There is also the problem of the "illusion of parental control." For teenage accounts, a solution has been developed where parents are aware of the feature activation but cannot see the location itself without the child's consent. This creates a false sense of security without providing real protection.
What Users Should Do
The Instagram team assures that they store geolocation data for only three days and do not use it for ad targeting. However, experts remind us: recorded data can be compromised through hacker attacks or transferred to third parties via court orders.
The only way to protect yourself from the automatic leak of coordinates is to completely block the function in the privacy settings. In conditions where digital security directly affects physical safety, ignoring this problem could cost too much.