Instagram Testing Feature That Shares Users' Location History With Facebook

It’s been discovered recently that Instagram is prototyping a new feature that forwards users' location history to Facebook. It’s believed that the new feature will be used by Facebook to bolster the social network’s targeted advertising.

The new feature was first discovered by TechCrunch. The Instagram app will be able to share users' location history with Facebook using exact GPS coordinates. When the Instagram app is able to collect location history, it will be able to share it with Facebook even when the user isn’t using the Instagram app. Facebook will then be able to use that information to improve its ad-targeting and it will also be able to recommend more relevant content to the user. This can be used for ads and content found on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

The feature can be accessed by going to the Instagram settings and tapping on “Privacy and Security.” There should be a “Location Settings” option in this page and it will have settings for “Location Services” and “Location History.” The Location History option is what collects the user’s precise GPS location history and sends it to Facebook. This option is said to be turned off by default.

“To confirm, we haven’t introduced updates to our location settings. As you know, we often work on ideas that may evolve over time or ultimately not be tested or released. Instagram does not currently store Location History; we’ll keep people updated with any changes to our location settings in the future,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Screenshots of the feature were provided by Manchun Wong. She is the developer who leaked the prototypes for video calling and music sticker features on Instagram before they were officially launched. It remains unclear if Facebook is planning to launch this new location history feature soon, but it does seem very likely.

The new feature will most likely raise privacy concerns if it does launch. Even if this launches as an opt-in type of feature, many users may not be even aware of its existence. Another thing to consider here is if Facebook decides to have it turned on by default, many users might not even take the time to dig through their settings to turn it off.

Facebook has been rife with scandals over alleged election meddling and fake news this year. Most recently, it was reported that the social network suffered a major data breach that affected 50 million of its users. Instagram is sort of the company’s shining light right now, but the app’s autonomy appears to be already under threat.

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram, resigned from Facebook last month. The two allegedly decided to leave after increasing tension with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over how Instagram is supposed to contribute to Facebook’s success. The new head of Instagram is Adam Mosseri, a longtime Facebook executive who is also in charge of the News Feed.

Facebook is battling Google in advertising and it looks like the social network is taking advantage of all of its assets. Unfortunately, this also means that users of Instagram should expect some changes on how the app will work as it continues to evolve under Facebook.