The best GPS trackers will track you in real time. But so, will social media! Like most people, I guess you don’t want to broadcast your location whereabouts constantly but these days a lot of Social Media apps are tracking location and making it easy for others to do the same and find each other with ease. This is very convenient for orders where a chilled courier service or another delivery company can be tracked so you are aware of the location of your order. Here are two examples of the way social media applications are being used to track your location.
Yes, Facebook even tracks you on messenger. Facebook’s Messenger app does uses location data, and its common knowledge, but it’s not that well known how that location data using messenger is used. But with the advantage of tools like the new Google Chrome extension entitled ‘Marauder’s Map ‘ we can now read and see that there is some know some alarming location data from the fb messaging app.
The Chrome extension, which is named after the map in “Harry Potter,” films, reveals a user’s exact location on a GSM Map. The extension works because Fb Messenger ties a user’s location information to a message, but only if their location settings are enabled, and they are usually set to default to be on, especially after a new update. The extension maps out user location based on where each message is sent from. It is only active if the user you message has their location data for fb messenger app turned on.
If that wasn’t alarming enough, the extension allows you to view a user’s location even if you are not fb friends, but are using the application to common For example, if you are in a group chat with someone, but aren’t their friend on Facebook, you can still view their whereabouts if they have location data turned on for the app.
Also note that if he person you are messaging location data is turned on, you are able to read exactly where their location is by a simple click on the icon located near the time the message was sent.
But if you want to turn GPS tracking/location sharing off for Facebook Messenger, so no location data is being shared, quickly go to “Settings” on your phone/mobile device and select “Privacy”, after that select “Location Services.” Then once you are there go to “Location Services”, select the Facebook Messenger app icon and and turn off location sharing of with the slider.
Even without geotag, Instagram is tracking you.
If the photo map is enabled on Instagram, the app will tag the location of your images.
Instagram collects some detailed data about a user’s location, purely based on where the images have been posted.
Although the picture sharing app does always give the user the option to name the locations of where the image is being uploaded from, it also automatically but default geotags a pic uploaded regardless if the user has selected “Add to Photo Map” function or not.
This ultimately means almost anybody can view the exact location of where images have been posted from a map even if the user has not selected “Name This Location” function.