First lady leaking location data through Instagram

First lady Michelle Obama’s Instagram feed is leaking details about her — or her staffers’ — location.

As first noticed by Fusion on Wednesday, whomever is managing the first lady’s  account on the picture-sharing service has opted in to also sharing their location. That data, which appears on a map inside the mobile application, can reveal details down to the building of where someone was when they uploaded a picture to the service.

{mosads}As can be expected, many of Obama’s photos are tagged to the White House.

But because the photos are tagged with the location where they were uploaded to Instagram — not necessarily where they were taken — some appear to come from staffers who presumably posted the images while far away from their desks

One picture of a massive Christmas tree coming into the White House’s north entrance was posted from outside of Allentown, Pa.

A 2014 picture of the first lady on the South Lawn was posted outside the Washington metro station in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, 2.5 miles away.

Obama isn’t the only one.

President Obama doesn’t have a personal Instagram account, but there is one for the White House that has posted pictures of the first family at home from as far away as Syracuse, N.Y., and Westborough, Mass.

Former President George W. Bush’s account posts pictures from all over Texas. Many of his pictures appear to be posted where they were taken, including a sub shop in the town of Southlake and a Sam’s Club in Midland.

Politicians’ locations when they post Instagram pictures became an item of interest after the Associated Press this week found that Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) was using taxpayer and campaign money to fly on private jets by examining the locations leaked through his Instagram account.

Tags Instagram Michelle Obama

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