✔️ 2022-08-25 23:41:28 – Paris/France.
Have you seen any warnings on social media this week about a recent iOS or Instagram update enabling "Precise Location", which will help criminals track your whereabouts?
You can relax; Precise location isn't new, and it's meant to give you Suites control how apps track your location. That said, Precise Location is enabled by default, and Internet Panic is a good reminder to check how the apps you use most are monitoring your activity.
What is Precise Location?
Precise Location is a system-level setting in iOS and Android and applies to apps that use location data. Apple rolled it out in 2020 with iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7; Google followed suit in Android 12. It's not limited to Instagram, although fake(Opens in a new window) warnings about it seem to be proliferating there at the moment.
As Apple said during its WWDC 2020 keynote(Opens in a new window): “This year, we continue to give you even more control. Along with the option to share your precise location, you'll have the option to only share your approximate location with apps.
In a 2021 preview of Android 12, meanwhile, we wrote: "Apps that need to access Bluetooth will no longer need location information, and a new 'approximate location' option prevents apps from knowing your location. exact location. »
Most apps don't really need to know your location, but in the years before Apple and Google cracked down on aggressive permission requests, many random apps tapped into your location just because they knew it. could. This has evolved in recent years. In iOS 13, for example, Apple added the ability for apps to ask for permission whenever they want to use your location. Precise Location then appeared in iOS 14, which also required apps to ask users for permission before tracking people in individual apps (much to Facebook's chagrin).
(Credit: PCMag)
Since iOS 15.6.1, you can tell apps when to track your location: Never, Ask next time, or When I share, When using the app, or Always. If you select anything other than Never, iOS will enable precise location by default. As the fine print points out, Precise Location “allows apps to use your specific location. When this setting is off, apps can only determine your approximate location. »
Apple says(opens in a new window) the approximate location covers an area of approximately 10 square miles. According to Google's Android developer site(Opens a new window), an approximate location on Android is within 1,2 square miles. When precise location is enabled, it is between 10 and 160 feet.
Why do you want precise location enabled?
Apple Maps (Credit: PCMag)
Precise location is useful on apps like Google Maps or Apple Maps, which can pinpoint your location to provide step-by-step directions. Or on ridesharing apps, which can determine where you are to show available vehicles in the area. Maybe you want to find a restaurant within walking distance. The precise location on Yelp might come in handy there.
On social media apps like Instagram, the usefulness of Precise Location really depends on how you use the apps. If you like checking exact locations (restaurants, clubs, hotels), this will give Instagram or Facebook a closer view of where you are and suggest more relevant locations to tag in your post.
Why do people panic?
The accusation on social media this week is that a recent iOS update enabled Precise Location and your phone now broadcasts your exact location even if you select a more general area on apps like Instagram (114 5th Ave . vs. New York City, for example).
"For example, if you choose to tag your geolocation on a post or story, if your 'precise location' is enabled in your iPhone settings, it will tag your specific location (usually within 20 feet). If 'precise location' is disabled, it will only mark the location you mark, for example the city you mark, the restaurant or the park, etc. reads an Instagram post with more than 106 likes. “This is used by individuals to target people to commit crimes including theft, harassment etc. “, adds the message.
The account that posted this information is an influencer marketing company with over 30 followers, and its message was carried by several prominent accounts today. We've DMed the account asking for examples of mishandled precise whereabouts or crimes committed, and we'll update if they respond.
But the information is wrong. Instagram shot him today on Twitter.
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“To be clear, we do not share your position with others. Like other social media companies, we use precise location for things like location beacons and maps functionality,” he said.
Tweet(Opens in a new window)
None of the recent iOS(Opens in a new window) updates, meanwhile, mention location services.
How to turn off precise location
(Credit: PCMag)
If you're really concerned about people seeing your location on Instagram or other social media accounts, make those accounts private and don't tag your location at all.
To see which iPhone apps have access to your location, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. This page lists apps and their location permission levels. To revoke Precise Location access on an app, tap it and turn Precise Location off.
If you know the app you want to restrict, you can also go to settings and scroll to the app, like Instagram or Facebook, and turn off precise location.
Android has similar settings if you want to limit location tracking on a Google-based device.
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SOURCE: Reviews News
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