The Unspoken Danger of Social Media: Oversharing Location Data in Pictures
By Rahul Pandey
In this era of advanced technology, it’s impossible to ignore the influence of social media on our daily routines – much like trying to ignore your smartphone’s constant notifications! We use social media to connect with friends and family, share our experiences, and document our lives. However, what many people don’t realize is that social media can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides us with a platform to express ourselves and share our stories, but on the other hand, it can also be a source of danger. One of the most significant dangers of social media is oversharing location data in pictures.
When we take pictures on our phones, we often don’t think twice about the data that is stored in them. However, every time we take a picture, our phone records location data, which is the GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken. This location data is stored in the metadata of the picture, which can be accessed by anyone who has the picture. Many social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, have features that allow you to tag your location in pictures. While this may seem like a harmless feature, it can be dangerous if you’re not careful. By tagging your location in pictures, you’re essentially giving away your location to anyone who has access to your profile.
For example, if you’re on vacation and you post a picture of yourself on a beach, someone who sees that picture could use the location data to figure out where you are. They could use this information to track you down or to rob your home while you’re away.
Social media over-usage and publicly sharing your workplace location and pictures can have serious consequences, both personally and professionally. Failing to prioritize the security and privacy of a social media account can result in negative outcomes that can impact enterprise resilience. An article published by global digital trust association ISACA titled “Social Media as a Growing Threat to the Workplace” brings to light the potential harm to an organization’s reputation, loss of customer trust, compliance issues, decreased employee productivity, and compromised intellectual property and sensitive data. These outcomes can have far-reaching consequences for an organization’s security posture and long-term success. The article serves as a powerful reminder of the risks associated with social media use and highlights the critical need for organizations to prioritize the implementation of effective social media policies and controls to mitigate these risks.
Smile for the Camera, but Watch Your Back
In addition to the dangers of tagging your location in pictures, sharing pictures with location data can also be dangerous. For example, if you take a picture of your child at their school, and that picture has location data attached to it, someone could use that information to find out where your child goes to school. This could put your child in danger.
It’s not just social media that can be dangerous when it comes to oversharing location data in pictures. There are also apps that can access the metadata of your pictures, such as photo editing apps. If you use these apps to edit your pictures, they could potentially access the location data and use it for their own purposes.
One of the most infamous examples of the dangers of oversharing location data in pictures is the case of John McAfee. McAfee, who was a software entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert, was on the run from the Belizean authorities in 2012. He had been accused of murder and was attempting to evade capture. However, he was eventually caught because a reporter took a picture of him and posted it online. The picture had location data attached to it, which allowed the authorities to track him down.
Another danger of oversharing location data in pictures is the potential for cyberstalking. Cyberstalking is a form of harassment where an individual uses electronic communication to track and harass another person. By sharing pictures with location data, you’re essentially giving cyberstalkers a roadmap to your life.
For example, let’s say you post a picture of yourself at a coffee shop. If someone wanted to cyberstalk you, they could use the location data to figure out which coffee shop you were at. They could then go to that coffee shop and try to find you. This is a scary thought, but it’s a very real danger that many people don’t consider.
The potential for cyberstalking is especially concerning for women, who, sadly, are often the targets of online harassment. By oversharing location data in pictures, women are at greater risk of being cyberstalked and harassed.
These were only a few examples of how oversharing location data in pictures can be dangerous. There are countless other examples of people being stalked, robbed or even killed in incidents in which the criminal/attacker used information that was contained in the victim’s pictures.
So, what can you do to protect yourself from the dangers of oversharing location data in pictures? Here are some tips:
- Turn off location services on your phone: By turning off location services on your phone, you can prevent your phone from recording location data when you take pictures.
- Don’t tag your location in pictures: While it may be tempting to tag your location in pictures, it’s not worth the risk. Instead, just post pictures without location data.
- Use a photo editing app that doesn’t access location data: If you want to edit your pictures, make sure to use an app that doesn’t access location data.
- Be careful what you post online: Before you post anything online, think about the information that is contained in the picture. If it has location data attached to it, think twice about posting it.
Oversharing location data in pictures is a significant danger of social media that is often overlooked. By being aware of the risks and taking steps to protect yourself, you can ensure that your pictures don’t put you or your loved ones in danger. Remember, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
About the author: Rahul Pandey is a dedicated security engineer with a history of training law enforcement agencies on cybercrime investigation. Rahul has penned articles on a variety of topics, including the dark web, social engineering, governance, compliance, privacy, and anonymity, and has also authored a book titled “The Red Hat Club,” a one-of-a-kind fictional guide to cybersecurity, and the views expressed in this article are his own.
