What is ‘Precise Location’ and Should We Be Worried About It?
We live in a world fueled by social media. Whether it's TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram, we're swiping and liking throughout our daily lives.
While it may seem harmless to look at and post your own personal photos, there are some dangers to social media as we've all learned over the last few years. However, one new privacy setting may be giving away a little more information than you intended.
Ironically, while I was looking through Instagram stories I came upon information that went viral regarding the "Precise Location" option on my iPhone. All the stories made me believe that strangers could see exactly where I was at all times on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Should We Be Worried About iPhone's Precise Location Feature?
Yes and no. It's not too complicated, but CNET.com does a good job explaining what the Precise Location option is all about. They write:
When you download a new app, you usually grant it access to various features on your iPhone, including your microphone, contacts, photos, camera and location. For instance, an application might ask for your location to provide you with directions or deliver food. However, apps can also use location info to collect data on where you go, and then sell that data to third parties who can use it to tailor advertisements for you.
Apple made some changes with iOS 14 in 2020, according to CNET instead of allowing the apps to see your exact coordinates, "you can now turn off precise location tracking so that apps instead only get to know approximately where you are."
It's not so much criminals and stalkers you need to worry about with Precise Location, it's more so social media platforms that will know your every move.
How to Turn Off iPhones Precise Location
If that didn't ease your mind at all and you still would like to turn off your Precise Location, here's how to do it on an iPhone:
-Go to Settings
- Scroll down to the App that you want to turn Precise Location off for
-Click Location
-Toggle Precise Location to off.
If you're a user of apps like Uber, DoorDash or any kind of maps app, you'll want to keep this on.
Location Safety on Social Media
If you don't want people to know your location, refrain from geotagging your location on photos and keep your social media accounts set to private.