Archives - Geolocation


Don’t geotag your posts on Instagram or Facebook

It’s cool to add a geotag to make the post more interesting but it can lead to potential danger. People who check out your updates could assume – correctly – that your house is empty and try to break in. Plus, your location could end up getting you bombarded with ads. Ultimately, it’s better to […]

Location services are usually unnecessary

Many apps and websites will attempt to access your location, but it’s usually not required to use the service. Don’t share your location with just anyone, and disable location data entirely if you’re especially concerned.

Be careful of granting sensitive permissions to new apps

Many apps — even well-known ones — ask for a long list of permissions when they’re installed. This can include location data, camera access, your email information, and other potentially sensitive permissions. Be wary of what you grant access: An image-editing app probably doesn’t need access to your emails to function. Note that location data […]

Don’t leave yourself open to swatting attacks

A nightmare scenario for any streamer or gamer is a swatting attack. This is when someone finds out who you are, where you live and calls in a fake threat to a local police station. The police take every threat seriously, and more than one person has died as a result of a swatting attack. […]

Ask TikTok to stop tracking you on iOS

Apple’s 14.5 operating system update in 2021 gave you a major new security feature: App-Tracking Transparency. This essentially lets you block the system advertising identifier (IDFA) that feeds your personal user data back to advertisers on the app. Apple has made sure you can opt into this feature while protecting other identifiers like your email […]

Be careful sharing your location on WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s ‘live location’ feature is really handy for coordinating meet-ups or keeping track of where your friends or family members are. But be mindful of how casually you allow people to see your live location. You can limit the length of time that your phone continues to broadcast your location, so set it to automatically […]