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Surfshark has conducted a review of location-hungry social media apps, including X, Instagram, and Snapchat Of the 10 social media apps analyzed, X demands the most granular location data Data was collected in August 2025 from the Apple App Store Think you’ve got your privacy covered? It could be time to give that a rethink, especially if you’re a regular user of X and other social media apps. A study from leading VPN provider Surfshark has analyzed the default location permissions required by the top 10 social media apps in the Apple App Store and found that most of them are very data-hungry – if not stalker-y. Elon Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Instagram, Threads, and Facebook especially know a lot about where you are… even if you’re using one of the best VPN apps. Why do social media want your location data? Your smartphone records two types of location data: precise and coarse. Coarse data is a zoomed-out, low-resolution option that shares your general location in the world. The precise option relies on GPS, Bluetooth, and even IP addresses to determine your exact location based on nearby networks. It is the latter data that X and other networks are using, to varying degrees. As Surfshark Chief Technology Officer, Donatas Budvytis, explains, precise location data falls under the most sensitive user data category because it can be linked to highly personal behavior and routines. "This all can lead to building your profile, predicting behavior, or can be used for targeted manipulation and discrimination," said Budvytis. (Image credit: Surfshark) Location data might be helpful at times. For example, it adds some useful context to photos (and helps you find a specific image years later). It can also help you locate interesting sights and businesses nearby. Social networks, however, seem to be enjoying just a little bit too much of it. Surfshark has discovered that while eight popular social networks collect precise location data, X is especially keen on it. Instagram, Threads, and Facebook all need a lot, as does Pinterest. Snapchat needs less; LinkedIn and YouTube require almost none. Collecting user information in this way allows social networks to offer advertisers a better reach, ensuring targeted ads based on your location. They might even send you marketing outreach messages using this sort of data. According to researchers, X and Pinterest may even use location data to track users. There is no clarity as to how this information is used or whether it is available to data brokers. In such a scenario, various information from other apps could be used in tandem to establish more specific and valuable data about your actions and interests. Can’t you just use a VPN? A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts your internet connections, while spoofing your real IP address location. (Image credit: Getty Images) VPNs are great for specific privacy uses, but when it comes to location data collected using GPS and other network
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Original reporting: Latest from TechRadar US in News,opinion