I just returned from a vacation, during which I ended up accidentally getting to know a stranger far too well via her Instagram account and realizing just how much information we accidentally give away on social media unintentionally. With her permission, I’m going to tell you how I came to know intimate details of her life.
Over the last week, I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful coastal town along the French Riviera. While I had my smartphone in hand for much of our daily journeys down the mountain for meals and shopping, I found myself unable to take many photos, partly because I was enjoying the scenery IRL. So I was curious to see if anyone else managed to get good photos of the random firework display or an especially beautiful sunset, and I did a hashtag search for the town on Instagram.
My search brought up about 70k photos, many of which were from the previous few days. I marveled as I scrolled through and saw the faces of multiple people I had seen out and about earlier in the day – complete strangers, but whose clothing or adorable dogs had drawn my attention enough to recognize them later. It was a little startling to recognize complete strangers.
When I came across a woman with a particularly cute dog, I clicked on her account. Not because I was particularly interested in her life (or her dog), but out of some undefinable curiosity. I didn’t intend to look closely at her photos or find out anything about her, but a photo she posted a few days before, that was visible on her grid, led me to investigate further.
She was on vacation as well, traveling from the UK with her family. Before she left, she posted a photo of her husband and an impressive amount of luggage on the front steps of their home, with their house number in plain view. She had geotagged her photo with the town as well. That’s when I wondered just how much more information she was giving away on Instagram and decided to peek around - not for nefarious reasons, but in the interest of public service.
Before I go on, I should say that I’ve given lectures and workshops on Internet privacy in the past. I’ve even given students assignments to look at each other’s social media accounts and report back on the information they’ve found in the interest of teaching people about how to stay safe online (and I’m not alone; it seems to be a popular assignment). Maybe I have more experience than most in spotting the signs of trouble when it comes to privacy, but that doesn’t make me any different from someone who is truly motivated to find out more about you in the interest of doing you harm.
I spent about 20 minutes looking through this woman’s Instagram photos from the last year – maybe 40 photos total. Here are some examples of what she posted and the information they quite easily gave away:
- The photo of her husband with some quite expensive luggage on the steps of a lovely home in a small city in the UK. This was enough to tell me they were fairly well-off and where they lived, not to mention that they would be away from their home for at least a couple of days.
- A photo of her daughter’s birthday party. The caption mentioned it was posted on her birthday. It gave away her daughter’s first name, age, and birth date. Add this to the fact that she had already given away a rough location of their home.
- A photo of the family walking to church. The caption mentioned that they were mere blocks from their home. That’s easily enough information to pin down a street address given the other information provided.
- A photo from the first day of school with the children’s school mentioned. That was a good indication of how many school-aged children were in the home and their interests, which were emblazoned on their lunchboxes (superheroes and Disney princesses).
- A photo from a work gala for her husband. Now I knew what he did for a living, where he worked, and – thanks to the caption – the fact that they have a teenage babysitter who watches their children frequently and who lives on the same street.
- A photo of her children playing together in a bedroom in the home. That was recent enough to give me more information on what the children liked, what decorated their bedrooms, and the kinds of toys they owned. It’s worth noting that this is more than enough information to strike up a conversation with a child and earn their trust.
- A Christmas photo of the family. This photo showed not just the family, but the paintings on their wall, the kind of television they own, the fact that they owned an Amazon Alexa, and a peek at what their children got for Christmas.
- A photo from a Sunday night, catching up on work, with a laptop and a glass of wine in the photo. The caption mentioned work frustrations, the potential for missing a deadline, and her desire for a new boss.
In 8 photos, a total stranger had given anyone who clicked on her account a truly remarkable amount of information on her and her family.
When I got the idea to write about this, I contacted her through Instagram to identify myself, give her my credentials, and explain in the least threatening way possible what I had done. Luckily, she was very kind and open to looking at the list of photos I had identified and invited me to publish this piece as soon as she made her account private.
It’s worth noting that even if an account is private, the number of data leaks from and hacks of sites like Facebook (which owns Instagram) means your data could become visible to everyone at some point, so it’s best not to post anything online that you wouldn’t be willing to share with the world. Add to that the fact that anyone you allow to follow you can screencap your photos, save them, and share them without you knowing. Someone who was a friend a year ago might not be forever.
Most people assume that no one cares enough to spend time researching them online. That may be mostly true - but if we’ve learned anything in the last decade, it’s that personal data is valuable and that people can easily use it against you.
Those who aren’t concerned about privacy because they think they have nothing to hide would do well to remember that their children deserve privacy from strangers (and the safety that brings). No matter how well-intentioned a post about a child might be, “sharenting” posts run the risk of both endangering and embarrassing minors.
Research has shown that both voyeurism and exhibitionism bring gratification to social media users - we get a kick out of both posting about ourselves online as well as looking at other people's photos. But this can enter dangerous territory, even when you're presenting a picture of your life that isn't completely authentic.
My short journey into the life of a perfect stranger has made me rethink some of my own online behavior as well, particularly when it comes to location information. It might be time for you to take a look through your own account with all this in mind.
