Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (National CERT), in collaboration with the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), has issued a fresh advisory warning citizens about the risks of sharing live locations online. The advisory was issued as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026, urging smartphone users to think twice before broadcasting their real-time whereabouts on social media and messaging apps.
The warning
According to the advisory, many people share their live location casually — in status updates, stories, or group chats — without realising how much information that single tap gives away. National CERT cautioned that a live location is far more revealing than most users assume, and once shared, it can be screenshotted, forwarded, or misused by people it was never meant for.
The advisory is guidance for safer digital habits, officials stressed — not a ban on location features, which remain useful for navigation, ride-hailing, and emergencies when used carefully.
Why live location sharing is risky
The advisory highlights several ways location data can be exploited:
- It reveals more than your position. Location history can expose daily routines, personal habits, and places visited regularly — painting a detailed picture of someone’s life.
- It can lead strangers to your door. Repeated location sharing can help unknown people work out where someone lives or works.
- It shows when you are home — or away. A live pin tells viewers exactly where a person is right now, which also reveals where they are not, raising the risk of stalking or unwanted tracking.
- It can expose relationships. Frequently visiting the same locations as others can reveal personal connections users may prefer to keep private.
What citizens should do
National CERT and NTC advised users to take a few simple precautions:
- Turn off location sharing when it is not needed.
- Check privacy settings regularly on social media and messaging apps.
- Review which apps have access to location data, and allow it only for apps that genuinely need it.
- Be careful about sharing personal information on apps that carry live-location features.
The advisory follows a similar recent warning from the same bodies about the risks of sharing family photos online — both form part of the Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026 campaign to help Pakistanis stay safer in their digital lives.
Sources: News Guru; ADN News English.
