This week, Instagram rolled out its new "map" feature, which lets users share their last active location with followers. About five minutes later, all hell broke loose. Many on the internet quickly criticized the feature for its lack of concern for user safety, while others posted warnings that they seemingly had the feature turned on automatically. "Why did a fan DM me warning me that they could see my precise location as [I] was asleep at the house" is not the kind of buzz you want if you're Instagram.The good news is this feature very likely isn't not set to turn on automatically. The bad news is you've probably already shared your location to the map without realizing it—just not in the way you're thinking. Instagram says it is not turning on your live location automaticallyDespite posts claiming the contrary, Instagram is adamant the feature is entirely opt-in: If you don't give Instagram permission to share your location with your followers, it supposedly won't. In addition, even if the feature is on, it's not sharing to all of your followers. In the worst case, the feature can share with all your friends, which means followers who you also follow back. If you're a creator, you won't be sharing your location to fans, unless you also follow those fans as well. Now, that's not to say the company has gone about this the right way. There are likely two reasons why people are thinking Instagram is sharing their live location without their permission. One, it's probably too easy to enable the feature. Some users might see the feature, open it out of curiosity, and without totally realizing it, blast their location to some or all of their followers with just a couple of taps. I'm looking at the setting right now, and while it's "clear," it's giving me anxiety that I'm only a tap or two away from beaming my location to all my friends.Two, users might be conflating a different function of the Instagram map with live location. In addition to sharing your every move with your followers, your location-tagged posts and reels can appear in the map as well. Even if you choose not to share your location, if you tag the coordinates of restaurant in last night's dinner post, that post will appear on the map for your followers to see. That makes it look like your location is live, when it's not. That's the theory Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, shared on Threads as to why some users who didn't opt-in feel their location is still being shared to the map.With all due respect Mr. Mosseri, it makes total sense that people didn't realize their geotagged posts would share to the map, when the feature didn't even exist when they tagged those posts. A PR nightmareI have to wonder if Instagram really didn't see this backlash coming. Maybe the company looked at other platforms, like Snapchat's Snap Map, or Apple's Find My, and figured, "Hey, why not us?" But from my seat, Meta's reputation for user privacy is deservedly zero. It only stands to reason that any Meta executives with a shred of self-awareness would anticipate some criticism here. I can buy that the company might not have thought through the difference between live location sharing and geotagging—that users would see a post on the map based on a geotag and think, "Wait, I'm sharing my location? I didn't agree to that!" But come on, Meta: You're rolling out a feature that puts people's locations on a map, the same week a jury rules you secretly stole Flo users' menstrual data in order to deliver them targeted ads. Your reputation here is terrible, and this feature is confusing. Sure, these users shared the location where their photos were taken, but now that data is being plotted on a map, without clear explanation as to why. Instagram says that locations only update when you open the app, and that your location will disappear after 24 hours of inactivity. In addition, you can set up to three "hidden places," which automatically hide your location when you visit them. But I'm not sure that's going to matter to most people, who now think the feature is a privacy disaster. How to turn off the Instagram map To be clear, if you have not explicitly opted in to this feature, it's very likely not enabled. But here's how to check: The Instagram map is available in your DMs, toward the top of the page. When you tap on it, you're invited to share your location with your followers. Instagram gives you a few options off the bat: "Friends" (followers you follow back); "Close Friends" (those on your Close Friends list); "Only these friends" (lets you choose specific friends you want to share with); or "No one." If you want to make sure you're not sharing your live location, make sure to select "No one." (If you don't see the map, the feature may not have rolled out to you yet.)If you want to go a step further, you can disable location permissions for Instagram entirely. This won't block the app from determining where you might be at any given time, as it can use your IP address for that purpose. (Cool, right?) But it will ensure you can't accidentally share your location to the map, and it'll block geotagging on posts. On iOS, you can find that option in Settings > Apps > Instagram > Location, where you should choose "Never." On Android, go to Settings > Location > App location permissions, choose Instagram, then hit "Don't allow."