Instagram, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, has found itself at the center of a heated debate after rolling out its new location-sharing feature, Instagram Maps, on August 14, 2025. The update, which allows users to broadcast their real-time physical location to selected friends, was made available to an estimated 170 million people. But just days after launch, the feature has sparked widespread privacy concerns, confusion, and a surprising sense of digital loneliness.
At its core, Instagram Maps is designed to be a "lightweight way to connect," according to Meta, Instagram’s parent company. With the feature enabled, users can opt in to continuously share their "last active" location with a chosen group, such as mutual followers, close friends, or a custom list. Unlike traditional location tags that are manually attached to posts or stories, Instagram Maps updates automatically whenever the app is opened or runs in the background. Meta emphasizes that the feature is "off by default" and requires explicit user activation. "You can opt into sharing your last active location with friends you pick, and you can turn it off anytime," Instagram stated in a blog post.
Despite these assurances, confusion and anxiety quickly spread among users. Within days, reports emerged of people seeing their locations appear on friends’ maps without their knowledge. One Instagram user voiced their unease on Reddit: "I wonder how many murders this will assist." Another recalled a previous experience with location sharing on Facebook, warning, "This kind of stuff may seem harmless. But if people are able to see your location, they can start checking it obsessively and monitor your whereabouts without you even knowing." Content creators, already accustomed to harassment and threats, expressed alarm that their physical locations could become visible to anyone online.
Cybernews, a technology news outlet, investigated whether Instagram could be used without leaking location data. Their findings confirmed that while Instagram Maps is opt-in, some users had their locations displayed without realizing they had enabled the feature. The safest approach, Cybernews advised, is to disable location sharing in the app’s settings and, for maximum privacy, to revoke Instagram’s access to location services at the device level. On iOS, this means setting location permissions to "Never" and turning off "Precise Location." On Android, users can deny location access or allow it only while the app is in use, and similarly disable precise tracking.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri spent much of the weekend following the rollout responding to user complaints and clarifying the company’s stance. On Threads, Meta’s social platform, Mosseri insisted, "You can opt-into sharing your location if you want to, but we never share someone's location unless they decide to share it." He also shared that he personally uses the feature with a "handful" of close friends, carefully curating the list for privacy.
Yet the rollout has been anything but smooth. According to BBC technology journalist Thomas Germain, the Map has so far been a "digital ghost town." Despite the feature’s availability to millions, Germain found almost no one using it, describing the experience as "lonely" and even unsettling. After enabling the feature himself, he discovered that only one of his hundreds of connections was visible on the Map—a distant acquaintance from years past. When Germain explained to this acquaintance that the feature was broadcasting his exact location, the friend quickly turned it off, surprised to learn how precise the sharing was.
The emptiness of the Map raises questions about Instagram’s understanding of its own user base. Hannah Law, a 26-year-old geotechnical engineer from Salt Lake City, told the BBC, "Instagram isn't an intimate app where you would want people to know your location." She compared the feature to Snapchat’s Snap Map, which feels more suited for close-knit sharing. "I'm much more likely to get stalked by an Instagram follower than a Snapchat friend," Law said, highlighting the vulnerability many users feel on Instagram’s broader, less personal platform.
Meta has repeatedly stressed that users have granular control over who sees their location, and that parental supervision tools are in place to notify parents when teens activate the feature. "People have always come to Instagram to share what they're up to and where they are," Meta wrote in a blog post. "No matter how you use the map, you and your friends have a new, lightweight way to connect with each other." Still, the company’s assurances have done little to quell fears among privacy advocates and the general public.
Experts are particularly concerned about the risks of continuous location sharing. Lorrie Cranor, a professor of privacy, security, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, told the BBC, "But Instagram doesn't seem designed to lend itself to that smaller group experience. I question whether people really want their Instagram friends to know that much about them 24-7. And in general, features on social media that allow people to track each other are often problematic."
There are mental health implications, too. A study by the child advocacy group Common Sense Media found that 45% of adolescent girls reported a "mostly negative" effect from location sharing. Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, explained, "Kids have told us location sharing creates social pressures about where they go, fear of missing out and worries about whether their friends are hanging out without them. It can make it more challenging to fit in, creating pressure to signal that you're part of the group, and making it easier to signal that you're not part of the group." Adults aren’t immune either; location sharing can lead to awkward social dynamics, such as uninvited guests showing up or strained relationships when someone revokes access.
Location data is among the most sensitive information users can share. It can reveal where you live, work, socialize, and even details about your health or political beliefs. For a company like Meta, which relies heavily on advertising revenue, this data is incredibly valuable, enabling more precise targeting and deeper insights into user behavior.
Despite Meta’s promises and the feature’s opt-in design, privacy experts urge caution. The consensus is clear: only share your location when absolutely necessary, and always review your privacy settings. As Germain reflected after receiving a warning from an ex-girlfriend about his own location sharing, sometimes the best move is simply to turn it off.
Instagram’s Maps feature was meant to bring people closer, but so far, it’s exposed a widening gap between what users want and what platforms are eager to provide. As the company "re-examines" its approach, users are left to navigate the delicate balance between connection, convenience, and privacy—one dot on the map at a time.
