A study reveals that social networks can also locate you to the meter with the GPS deactivated. How to really defend your privacy
The illusion of “having turned off everything” lasts the time to open the app. A recent study by Surfshark He revealed that the big social media – in head X, destination and Pinterest – are hungry for our precise position. It is not enough to know in which city we find ourselves: they want the exact point on the map, up to the number civic. In an Italy where, in January 2025, 42.2 million people used social media – 71.2% of the population – the question is not marginal. We are talking about data that, crossed with others, can tell who we are, what we do, and even what we will do later.
Because the location is gold (and is worth more than you think)
GPS, Bluetooth signals, IP address: each tool is good for locating yourself. It is not just a matter of maps. Your movements tell where you live, where you work, what time you come back, if you frequent a hospital, a place of worship or a political committee. Information that – as Donata Budvytis, surfShark CTO explains – can become profiling, prediction of behavior and even targeted discrimination. The only one to openly declare to use the precise position for tracking is X, but the others also play on the wire. They combine coordinates, habits and data collected by sites and apps to create a detailed picture of you. And if needed, they sell it.
Even with the GPS off, they know where you are
The twist? Turn off the precise position does not save you. Some platforms, including Meta, Tiktok and Pinterest, still manage to deduce your approximate position thanks to network data or your IP. Translated: you can also deny permission, but they will continue to follow you a few meters away. It is like thinking of running away from a crowded party and finding the DJ chases you with the playlist under the house.
Instagram Maps, the function that has rekindled the controversy
The debate on geolocation has had a surge in recent months also due to Instagram Maps, the function that allows you to search and view places, activities and posts geotaggi directly on an interactive map. Meta presents it as a useful tool for discovering restaurants, shops and “trendy” places near us. But critics define it as a “showcase of real -time movements” that can turn into a risk for privacy and personal security. The function, in fact, aggregates public content and places them on a navigable map, making it possible to see who posted what and from where. A manna for brands, but also a potential weapon for those who want to monitor a person’s habits and movements. Meta ensures that the position is visible only for public content and not for private profiles, but the shadow of digital surveillance remains, feeding the feeling of being “card” every time you take a photo outside the home.
What can you do not to give your position
There is no total protection, but some barrier can be raised. First of all, enter the phone settings and remove access to geolocation to those apps that have no real need to know where you are, or implement it only while you use them. Avoid, if you can, the “always” option, which is a perennial pass. Disable the precise position function, leaving only the approximate area visible, already reduces the invasiveness a lot. It is also worth taking a look at the ads settings and deactivating those based on the location, so you don’t find the advertising of the restaurant next to the office just out of work. Finally, if you want to play in advance, a VPN connection can mask your position linked to the IP, showing the apps only the city or the country of the server from which you browse you. It is not an impenetrable armor, but it is a coat often enough to make the hunt much more complicated.
The problem is not only where you are. Is that they always know it
The privacy game is played on time. Each minute leaves a door open, someone is already collecting data. And the more the big apps are enriched with details, the more your profile becomes a gold mine for advertisers, brokers and platforms. It’s not science fiction, it’s pure business. In a world where “deactivating” does not mean “disappearing”, the real question is not because they trace us, but to what extent we are willing to make us find.
