When Instagram announced its new real-time location sharing feature, it sounded like a fun way to meet up with friends at concerts, cafes, or events. But beneath the excitement, an important question lingers: Is it really safe to broadcast your live location on a social app built for sharing with hundreds — even thousands — of followers?
Right now, a lot of people are talking about Instagram’s new real-time location-sharing feature — and not in a good way. Across social media, users are raising red flags: “Turn it off!” “Too risky!” “Strangers could track you!”
The fear isn’t random. Once your live location is floating around — even just for an hour — it’s no longer fully yours. Privacy experts are warning that even if you trust someone today, platforms change, settings glitch, people change. The truth?
Your safety shouldn’t depend on an app designed mainly for social connection and entertainment.
If staying connected is your goal, there are safer ways to share your location — especially when it’s with trusted family, close friends, or college roommates. Using a dedicated safety app built for emergency location tracking (not casual social sharing) can be the difference between staying secure and accidentally exposing yourself to danger.
What Happens When Location Sharing Becomes Casual?
Let’s be honest. When you get a location sent over Instagram, how seriously do you really take it?
You might open it. You might even forget about it. It feels casual — like any other message in your DMs.
But what about when someone is truly in danger?
When every second counts, would you want your life-saving message mixed in with memes, birthday wishes, and old chats?
That’s the problem with relying on social media apps for something as serious as personal safety, location tracking, or emergency communication.
When an alert comes from a chat app, it’s easy to miss or misunderstand.
You deserve something better. You deserve a way to share your location only with people you trust — not the entire internet.
You deserve an app that says, “This is important. Pay attention now.”
A Better Way to Protect Yourself and the People You Love
Think about the people who truly need to know where you are — your parents, your best friend, your spouse, your sibling.
Not just anyone on your follower list.
Not strangers who might misuse it.
That’s why personal safety apps built for live location sharing exist. These apps aren’t just about showing where you are — they’re about protecting you.
Imagine you’re a college student heading back from night classes, or a young woman getting into a cab late at night.
Instead of dropping a casual location pin in WhatsApp, you can tap a single button and send your live GPS tracking plus a short emergency video to your emergency list instantly.
It’s not just about location.
It’s about urgency, protection, and trust.
Privacy Should Always Come First
Instagram promises that their new location sharing is private. They say you control who sees it.
But even privacy settings aren’t bulletproof — and at the end of the day, you’re still handing sensitive data to a social media company whose business model revolves around data collection and targeted ads.
Do you really want your exact movement and real-time GPS tracking to be part of that ecosystem?
When you use a personal safety app like NauNauSOS, you’re not sharing your location for likes, for chats, or for ads.
You’re sharing it because you matter.
You’re sharing it because someone you trust might need to find you fast.
And you’re choosing to put your safety in your own hands — not in the hands of an algorithm.
Ask Yourself
- If I really needed help, would my Instagram DM be the best place to send an alert?
- Would I trust a casual social app to guard my most critical moments?
- Who do I want to have access to my live location — my loved ones, or anyone who might stumble upon it?
When you frame it that way, the answer becomes obvious.
Social media is great for what it’s designed for: connecting, chatting, sharing memories. But when it comes to personal safety, location sharing, and emergency alerts, you need a tool that’s made for saving lives, not just connecting people.
Stay smart. Stay safe. Choose solutions that truly put you and your loved ones first.
