How to protect your privacy when sharing photos on social media

PITTSBURGH — With just a click, it’s so easy to post pictures on social media from your phone.

We post pictures of ourselves all the time, but it can lead to an invasion of privacy.

Social media influencer, Katie Love, has thousands of followers who love to see her pictures and videos. She shares every day about her job, her vacation and her family.

“I love everything about sharing my entire life, from working out to creating a business to having a stay-at-home dad and husband. I get such joy out of sharing with my community. I don’t think I would change a thing,” said Love.

There are 4.8 billion active users on social media around the world. They are posting thousands of photos every minute, but there’s more to these photos than just smiles and sunsets. They can lead to privacy issues.

When Channel 11 News anchor Susan Koeppen several close-up pictures of herself for this story, one follower on social media was able to name exactly where she was in each photo.  One on Mount Washington, one at Point State Park, PNC Park and Station Square.

Seems innocent enough, but what if you don’t want people to know exactly where you are, where you work or where you eat lunch?

In May of 2023, a man was arrested after driving from Tennessee to Pittsburgh to confront a social media influencer. He knew exactly where to find her based on her social media posts. She posted photos outside her gym where she went for daily workouts.

There are some steps you should take with your smartphone and camera if you are worried about your location in photos. Make sure you have your location services turned off for your camera.

As the CEO of a social media company – Love makes sure location services are turned off – but she takes another step. She does not post in real-time.

“I am still sharing content, but I am choosing to share at a different time. People don’t know exactly where I am and at what time things are happening because no one knows if I was in Italy today or three weeks ago,” said Love.

Little steps that can make a big difference.

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