Privacy Takes Another Hit On Instagram

As a person who holds privacy dear, I try to let others know when something ominous is quietly being deployed to gain information. And as usual, it is cloaked in the guise of something beneficial to users.

Whenever Meta produces anything, you should proceed with caution. And they have announced special features which include the ability to share public reels, a tab called ‘Friends’ allows people to see what their connections are doing and one more that is the subject of my concern.

This is called ‘Friend Map’. This is the way you let others know your location in your circle of friends. And while it is currently only available in the US, it will be rolled out further as the weeks go by.

I can hear young users saying this would be quite handy if they want to hook up with their own crowd. But it is not clear when this feature would be on or off all the time based on the information so far.

For example, even though location permissions require switching on, if you shared a location at any time, they might still be on. And exactly how you are located gives me pause since we know Facebook is big on selling your data.

Now you will be buried in solicitations from advertising sources and possible government outreach. And when it comes to authorities, the surveillance issues just continue to rise. Why provide them with another tool to aid them in this process.

I also happen to believe that the more obvious you are in terms of giving information about yourself, the more visible you become and that could make you a target in more ways than one including legally.

Please have a talk with your kids about this. No one should have to know where all people are at all times. Kids can make plans to connect the old fashioned way. It is safer and not subject to the whole world knowing.