Instagram’s new location-sharing feature, dubbed ‘Instagram Map’, has been rolled out to 170m users, but a journey through the platform reveals a perplexing reality: it’s a digital ghost town.
While Instagram’s parent, Meta, has billed the feature as a “new, light way to connect”, many users are finding themselves alone on the map, prompting a quiet battle between the platform and its user base over privacy, purpose and trust.
The feature, which allows users to share their real-time location with friends, isn’t entirely new.
But Meta has a history of privacy issues and data mismanagement that has cost Zuckerberg billions in fines.
This makes the introduction of a location-tracking feature particularly unsettling for users.
As one user, Hannah Law, told the BBC: “Instagram isn’t an intimate app where you would want people to know your location. I’m much more likely to get stalked by an Instagram follower than a Snapchat friend”.
A battle over data and trust
The core of the issue lies in the contrast between what Instagram is and what its ‘map’ feature tries to make it.
Instagram has long been “a broadcasting service for your life”, as Law noted, a platform for curated, public-facing content.
But location sharing, on the other hand, is an intimate act typically reserved for close friends and family. This disconnect is at the heart of the feature’s emptiness.
What’s more, a user who activated the feature discovered he was the only one on the map among his hundreds of connections.
Yet when he found out he was sharing his exact real-time location with one of his Instagram connections, an old colleague – he quickly turned the feature off.
This confusion is widespread. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has had to address user complaints on Threads, clarifying that the map is opt-in and doesn’t automatically share a user’s location unless they explicitly choose to.
The unseen risks of location tracking
The privacy concerns go far beyond a user’s discomfort with cybersecurity firms warning that the feature, which operates as an “always-on location transmitter”, presents significant risks.
Check Point’s Amit Weigmann has pointed out that the data collected, which is not end-to-end encrypted, is stored on Meta’s central servers, making it a potential target for hackers.
This information can also be leveraged by Meta’s ad platform, allowing for highly specific and potentially malicious ad targeting.
For instance, advertisers could reach people who visit a specific gym or coffee shop. This same precision can be exploited by criminals.
McAfee’s chief technology officer, Steve Grobman, highlights the “mosaic effect,” where criminals can combine small bits of data like location, routines, and social posts to build a detailed profile for scams, identity theft, or even physical harassment.
As Grobman warns, “location data can be powerful, and in the wrong hands, dangerous”.
A vague policy and a looming question
Instagram’s location data policy contains vague language, stating it uses some location-related information “even if location services are turned off”, relying on a device’s IP address.
This broad approach raises questions about how much information Meta is truly collecting and for what purpose.
While a Meta spokesperson has stated that parents can monitor their teen’s location settings and restrict sharing, and that the feature is designed for safety, many privacy experts remain sceptical.
Robbie Torney, from the child advocacy group Common Sense Media, advises parents to turn the function off due to the “real potential for misuse.”
Torney notes that location sharing can also create social pressures and anxiety for young people who worry about fitting in or being left out.
Ultimately, the Instagram Map feature highlights an ongoing conflict.
As Meta pushes a platform that combines the functionality of multiple apps, from Snapchat and TikTok to Twitter, it risks alienating a user base that wants more control, clarity and trust, not just a new way to share.
The question remains whether Instagram can redefine its purpose without compromising the privacy and safety of its users.