EG-CERT Warns Users Over Sharing Location on Social Media

Egypt's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT), part of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority, has warned users about the risks of sharing their geographic location on social media and in mobile apps. It urged people to protect personal data and avoid publicly revealing where they are and how they move.

The warning is part of an awareness campaign titled "Your location is your privacy... don't reveal it to anyone." The campaign stresses that users should pay attention to what they publish online, especially when they tag a location on photos or check in at specific places.

How location data can be misused

According to the campaign, frequent location sharing can let others track a user's movements, learn which places they visit and when they are there. That information could expose users to security risks, including being targeted, or revealing the times when their home is empty.

What users should do

The campaign advises people to review the permissions of apps installed on their phones and check which ones can access location. Users should switch location access off for apps that do not need it and allow it only for apps that require it to work.

It also recommends not posting your location live while in public places, and checking privacy settings before sharing photos and posts. These steps, it says, limit the chances that published information is used to work out a person's movements and daily habits.

The guidance is aimed at ordinary users rather than any single platform, and it relies on settings already built into phones and social networks. Reviewing app permissions takes only a few minutes and applies equally to messaging, photo, shopping and delivery apps that request location access by default.