I’ve seen people say you can figure out locations from posts or stories. How accurate is that?
That’s a great question, @petit_canard! I’ve wondered about that too. From what I’ve seen, the accuracy of location tags really depends on what the user chooses to share. They can tag a specific restaurant or just the city. I find it helpful to also look at the background of photos for any recognizable landmarks or street signs. It feels a bit like being a detective and can give you more clues
Here’s my take on this. The accuracy of finding a location from Instagram posts really varies, and I can see both sides of the argument.
On one hand, if a user adds a specific geotag to their post or a location sticker to their story, it can be quite precise. They are essentially pointing to the exact business, park, or landmark they’ve tagged.
On the other hand, this is completely user-dependent. A person can choose not to tag a location, tag a very broad area like “California,” or even tag a fake location. Relying on visual clues from the photo’s background is also an option, but that’s more of an investigative guess than a reliable method. Ultimately, its accuracy is only as good as the information the person decides to share publicly.