The advent of social media has put everyone in a rat race of sharing. From sharing their pictures, important milestones and even location on social media and the internet. People have become very fond of this practice to update their friends and followers about their daily activities. While doing so, they turn their location on to check-in to different places with their friends. That is where the risk factor comes into play.
By sharing your location online, you are making yourself vulnerable to unwanted contact from strangers. For as long as you keep your GPS on, your privacy and security is at risk. Your privacy gets compromised, and can easily be used to your disadvantage. Some of the major reasons to not share your location on social media are outlined as follows:
Your Location Can be Traced by Criminals
Internet hackers are always on the lookout for soft and vulnerable targets in order to break into their devices. Turning your location on makes that task much easier. For instance, you check into a bar with your friends. A hacker happens to be in the vicinity, he now knows you are in that bar. He can do with that information whatever he wants. So, essentially you have left yourself exposed to theft, assault and similar crimes.
At other times, when you are on the move and have your location turned on, real-time data is being collected. This makes your information available to third parties without your consent. The idea of strangers tracking every move of yours as it occurs sounds scary, doesn’t it? That is one of the many reasons why experts advise you to keep your location service off.
Your Data Can be Stolen and Sold
Cybercriminals make a living off breaking into accounts to steal sensitive data. Exposed locations of potential victims help speed up the process for them. Your location data is transmitted, through cellular or Wi-Fi connection. This is done through the company that provides you with an internet connection. This data may also be shared with any third-party service provider, and that is where the most danger lies.
It is not just the information about your location that gets exposed. Rather, information about your religious and/or political views and activities, your personal messages and all kinds of other sensitive data gets in the danger of being exposed. Hackers and intruders can steal this information from your third-party digital service providers. They can then use it to threaten and blackmail you. Worse still, they can sell this data to more lethal criminals.
You May Get Robbed
When you share your location on social media, you are telling everyone where you are. And by extension, where you are not. Intruders who come across this information, may seek to avail this opportunity to break-in to your house and rob it. Separately, they can also use the knowledge of where you are to blindside and mug you at gunpoint, among other things. Another possibility is that the hackers identify trends and patterns in your routine, and can plan their activities in accordance with what you do.
You Compromise the Privacy of Your Friends and Family
Even if you are not the target of any crime or ambush when your location is exposed. Your friends who you tag might be. So you can inadvertently put them in danger through your tags and check-ins. And even if this information is missed by the hackers, there is always the chance that you reveal their location to someone they have been trying to avoid.
In addition, if your friends/family are not exposed to crimes or danger, they may have personal issues attached to sharing their location. And when you tag them in your posts on social media, you expose their privacy to the people they are probably trying to avoid.
Always Be Wary About Sharing Your Location
Sharing your location on social media has many perils. Not only for you but for your friends and family as well. Today’s trends of social media tagging have made it all the more easy for hackers to steal valuable information. So, it is always best to keep yourself on the safe side. Try avoiding sharing your location on social media platforms.
