IG New Feature: How to Turn Off Location Sharing on Instagram

Instagram is showing your location — and you might not know it. No pop-up. No alert. Nothing. If you’ve been posting selfies, reels, or stories lately, you might be unknowingly showing your current whereabouts to friends, mutuals, or worse... total strangers. Hang tight — I’ll show you how to turn off Instagram location sharing before it gets out of hand.

Why Instagram Starts Sharing Your Location with No Alert?

Here’s the deal: Instagram is testing a new feature called Friend Map. Think Snapchat’s Snap Map — but built right into Instagram. With Friend Map, your real-time location can show up for other users on a literal map view. That means someone could zoom in and see what neighborhood you’re in right now — even if you didn’t tag your location on a post.

Now, to be fair, Meta says the feature has privacy controls:

• You can limit your location sharing to Close Friends
• You can pause sharing any time
• There’s an option to never share at all

Sounds great on paper… but unless you manually check those settings, Instagram might start sharing your location by default. And right now, there’s no official release timeline, so you won’t know when it rolls out in your region.

So what can you do about it? Don’t worry — I’ll walk you through exactly how to turn off Instagram location sharing step by step.

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How to Turn Off Instagram Location Sharing?

There are two simple ways to do this: one inside the app, and the other from your phone’s settings. Do both for maximum privacy.

1 Turn on Invisible Mode in Instagram

This is Instagram’s in-app way to stop showing your location on the new Friend Map. Here’s how to do it:

• Open the Instagram app and head to your DMs tab.
• Tap the little “Map” icon in the Notes section at the top.
• On the next screen, hit the Setting button.
• Now switch on Invisible Mode.

Now you can hide your location on Instagram's Friend Map. But wait — you’re not done yet. Instagram can still access your GPS in the background unless you also block it from your phone settings.

2 Turn Off Location Services in Settings

Even with Invisible Mode on, your device might still let Instagram use your location behind the scenes. Here’s how to shut that door completely — whether you're using an iPhone or Android.

iPhone Users: Here’s How

• Exit Instagram and go to your Settings app.
• Scroll down to Privacy & Security > tap Location Services.
• Find and tap on Instagram in the app list.
• Set it to either Never or While Using the App (Never is safest).

Now Instagram has no GPS access — not even when you’re posting posts or reels.

Android Users: Follow These Steps

• Open your phone’s Settings.
• Scroll down to Location > App permissions.
• Find Instagram.
• Tap it, then set location access to Deny or Don’t allow.

Done and dusted. Instagram won’t be able to peek at your location anymore.

How to Add a Fake Location on Instagram?

So, what if instead of turning off your location, you want to have some fun with it? Yep — you can spoof your GPS location on Instagram and make it look like you’re chilling in Paris, Tokyo, or literally anywhere else on Earth (without leaving your couch). You'll need a location spoofer to help you do that. iRocket LocSpoof is your go-to tool. It works on both iOS and Android, no jailbreak or root needed. You can use it to teleport to any funny Instagram location in the world. What's more, you can also use it to fake WhatsApp location and movement.

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• Easily fake your Instagram location with a tap on the map.
• Super easy to use (no computer needed after initial setup).
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• Comes with a joystick and realistic movement modes to avoid detection, best for tricking Find My and Life360.
• Works on both iOS and Android, no jailbreak or root needed.

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iOS Users: Follow These Steps

Step 1 Install iRocket LocSpoof to your device and follow the prompts to set it up.

Step 2 Open LocSpoof and select a location on the map.

Step 3 Choose Teleport Mode and tap Move to instantly change your location

Step 4 Instagram location changed! Now you can send a fake live location on Instagram without anyone knowing.

Android Users: Follow These Steps

Step 1 Install LocSpoof to your device and follow the instruction to set up.

Step 2 Open LocSpoof, enter your desired destination, and tap Move to change the location.

Step 3 Location changed! You can check your current location on Google Map.

Final Words

So here’s the deal: Instagram is quietly rolling out real-time location sharing. If you’re not into that — which, let’s be real, most of us aren’t — now you know exactly how to turn it off: use Invisible Mode inside the app and block location access in your phone’s settings. If you want to bend reality a little, use LocSpoof to set a fake location and have some fun with your posts. That's all about how to turn off location on Instagram!

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