5 risks of using location sharing

In recent years, location sharing has become increasingly common. The feature is now built into many messaging and social media apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat, and you’ll also find it in navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze. Location sharing is undoubtedly useful, allowing you to share your precise location with family, friends, and trusted people. Given the breadth of integration and usage of the feature, users may not think twice before enabling or using location sharing. But this feature has its drawbacks, and anyone who values ​​security and privacy shouldn’t overlook them.

The biggest risk of location sharing is that it can reveal your precise location to people you may not know or trust, if it is configured in certain ways. This means others can get an idea of ​​where you live, where you work, and the places you frequently visit. If this information falls into the wrong hands, it can be used for harassment, attempted identity theft, scams and even theft.

Additionally, it’s not just the other person who has access to your location: the app you’re using may also have access to this data. And if the app is compromised, bad actors can potentially access your location history. This has happened in the past with Gravy Analytics, a data broker that was hacked. Even though most apps offering location sharing have strict security measures to protect user data, data breaches are still a possibility, which you should always be aware of.

One of the biggest physical risks of location sharing is harassment. Someone with ulterior motives could potentially track your location and monitor your movements, depending on how you have things set up. Remember that location tracking doesn’t always require precise location tracking via Instagram Map or Snap Map. Even without real-time updates, geotagged photos can reveal your location, especially if posted on a public profile. So, if you’ve shared your precise location through one of these apps, it’s important to review it carefully and limit who can access it. Apart from this, you can use built-in security features like Ghost Mode on Snap Map.

Another overlooked physical risk is that of theft. When people know your daily routine through location sharing, including what time you leave for work and what time you get home, they can get an idea of ​​when no one is home. Likewise, sharing geotagged photos from family vacations on social media clearly shows that your house is empty. Location sharing alone does not cause burglaries, but it can make it easier for burglars. Additionally, location sharing can increase the risk of unwanted confrontations, which is a major security risk.

As surprising as it may seem, many apps track your activity and store your location history, including specific places you’ve visited in the recent past. Although most apps are transparent about how they process this data, a few are not, especially those from less reputable developers. These malicious apps often harvest your location history and sell it to third parties. The information is then used to deliver targeted advertisements.

That’s why it’s a good idea to regularly check the permissions of apps on your smartphone, identify those that don’t need location access, and revoke those permissions. Additionally, check if the app’s location history actually benefits you. If not, consider disabling the feature. You also can’t ignore the possibility of a data breach exposing your location history to bad actors.

Finally, your location history can be used to scam or impersonate you. For example, if bad actors know you’re on vacation, they could send fake emails about your reservation that redirect you to potentially dangerous websites. Advances in AI have also made it more difficult to identify phishing emails, since the typical, telltale spelling and grammar errors are no longer present. Additionally, when bad actors have access to your location history, they also have insight into where you live and work, your daily habits, and the places you frequent, making it easier to steal your identity. That said, it’s important to understand that location sharing is not inherently problematic or dangerous: these problems largely depend on how it is configured.