TikTok Creator Shows How Public Clues in Videos Can Be Used To Identify Locations: “My 10-Year-Old Doesn’t Understand the Risk Behind Social Media”

A viral video is drawing attention after a TikTok creator demonstrated how publicly visible details in social media posts can potentially be used to identify a person's location.

A man on TikTok uses his platform to teach a serious lesson: just how easy it is for the wrong people to use the internet to find innocent, well-meaning people. In a video posted to X, you hear a mother stress how her young daughter doesn’t understand how easy it is for creepy people to find her location online. The man attempts to demonstrate the point.

“I have a 10 year old who doesn’t understand the risk behind social media,” the mother says in the video. She then asks the man to find her location just from the background of the video. While it doesn’t seem like enough information to find their location, the TikTok user, who goes by the_josemonkey, proves us wrong.

According to the video, he used several visual clues, but he is able to identify her location. He uses a CVS Pharmacy, water tower, and Wendy’s fast food restaurant  in the background of the video to find her location. Not only that, but he takes the sun and shadows in the video into consideration. 

This process sounds complex, but to someone who is determined to locate someone from the internet in the real world, it is something they may be willing to commit to.

Video Sparks Discussion About Privacy Risks and Online Safety

Using the landmarks in the video and a lot of research, he is able to locate the woman. He says his intention is not to scare people, but rather to spread awareness that if someone is determined enough, they can locate people they see on the internet in real life.

Users on X reacted to the demonstration. One person thought this was teaching creepy people how to locate others from the videos and pictures they share on the internet. 

“Why would you even teach someone how to figure out where someone else is at? This is so creepy on all different types of levels, like it’s a trailer to how to be a creep,” they wrote. Another added, “Creeps everywhere getting a how-to guide to set up their rape/homicide. Great.”

Others thought the video showed the risks of posting online well, while some X users thought the video was a bit far-fetched. Much of the discussion centered on online privacy and how much information can be inferred from details visible in social media posts.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the methods used in the video or whether the location identified by the creator was accurate.