How To Hide Your Location On Social Media So You Don't End Up Like Kim K

If people tried to track you down using your social media posts, what would stop them from putting you in a Kim Kardashian-like situation?

After all, we know that apps like Facebook are prone to revealing the location and time of certain posts. The same goes for Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

In theory, these apps could definitely help the wrong person pinpoint your location. Similarly, constant social media posts could have helped thieves track down Kim Kardashian in Paris.

At the very least, the posts would have helped the thieves figure out when she was alone, especially since she posts Snapchat videos like this one:

Again, this is all a theory. There's no concrete evidence to suggest that Kim's social media posts provoked the thieves or played any part in her falling victim to robbery. Plus, the execution of the heist and the amount of valuables taken suggest that the thieves had a well-calculated plan to steal from Kardashian.

Nevertheless, it is an unsettling thought, and it's one that should prompt us to reconsider how we post on social media.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can avoid letting everyone know your whereabouts with every tweet and Snap:

Snapchat

As Mashable's Karissa Bell mentions, one of the more obvious tips to make use of is avoiding geofilters. The filters can disclose what neighborhood you're in, or even what exact event you're attending.

But if you really want to make use of that pretty little filter, here's what you can do: You can take a Snap at a certain location, capture the photo with a geofilter and then, when it's time to post, put your phone on airplane mode.

When you try to post the Snap on airplane mode, you will obviously fail. But that same Snap will be available to upload later via a "tap to retry" option.

Here's how those steps would look on your phone:

Other forms of social media

To avoid stamping your location on other apps – particularly Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – you can take some pretty easy – but still important – steps.

On these apps, it's all about knowing when and when not to use the "check-in" feature.

On Twitter and Facebook, it'd be pretty wise to avoid ever using "check-in." Quite frankly, it adds nothing valuable to the experience.

On Instagram, however, it's a different story. You kind of want to show people where you're partying (or eating, or whatever).

If you're really trying to be secretive, try something similar to the suggestion with Snapchat above. Basically, upload your pictures after you've left the venues where you took them.

These measures might seem excessive, but you'd rather be safe.

After all, you never know who's watching.

Citations: The settings you need to change so people can't use social media to find your location (Mashable)