Want To Spy On Your Instagram Followers Locations?

This App allows you to track your instagram followers’ locations and use that data to identify their habits. I know, cause I used it once on a case I was working. It helped me track someone that I needed to get surveillance video and information on.

This app uses followers’ geotagged posts and stories to draw a detailed map of places visited by anyone that has an Instagram account. The app is called “Who’s In Town” and can be installed on an iPhone or Android device.

Who’s in Town is designed to show you where your friends and followers might be, at the moment, but it really does much more than that. Once the app is downloaded and you give it permission to access your Instagram account, you will see an interactive map with every place, that the people you follow have been and shared, since the creation of their Instagram account profile.

I know you’re saying to yourself:  “But, this information has always been available as long as they’ve shared it.” And you’d be correct, however, Who’s in Town aggregates ALL data points into comprehensive chronology history of a user’s frequented places. The app also updates in real time, so it’s entirely possible for someone to know where a user is, at any given moment, as long as the user is posting geotagged data as they mosey about their day.

The app can tell what restaurants, coffee shops, and bars your “friends” frequent, when they were last there, and paint a nearly perfect picture of their daily lives that would not be as obvious by just looking at their individual posts or perusing their most recent stories. BTW, stories are archived and reach back for long periods of time.

So, with the case I mentioned, at the beginning of this write up, the person of interest’s Instagram account was private. I sent them a follow request and they, in turn followed me back. It was a shot in the dark, but hey it worked. They trusted my Instatgram account because we had a lot of mutual connections (hint, hint). This person geotagged nearly every single post and story clip. BINGO! I was in business, because in this particular situation, I did not have a permissible purpose to place a GPS tracker. Yeah, I could glean where they went and sometimes when they went there by just studying the pictures, but why not let Who’s in Town do the heavy lifting? I needed to know where this person worked and when they got off, so that I could follow them on specific days. I also needed to know when they weren’t going to be home, so I could place a camera across the street and know when to access it without getting caught.

The app worked perfectly and was huge help for my case. I learned what coffee shop, restaurants, bars, and gym they frequented. I even figured out that they mowed a person’s yard every single Saturday, unless it rained. And if it did happen to rain on Saturday, I knew I could find them at a particular pool hall. I learned who they hung out with most frequently and even on certain nights. I could almost set my watch by how consistent this target was.

The app’s creator, Erick Barto, said:  “The amount of data is insane.” “It’s the equivalent of you going through every single story and writing down every single location, just consistently all the time.” He also said that the application discovered that 30 percent of people, posting to their stories over the weekend, geotagged a minimum of one location.

From a privacy standpoint, this raises obvious concerns… Aggregating data of someone’s daily routine could provide bad actors with data that can aid them in stalking or harassment or even theft because they’ll know when the person isn’t home or out of town and perhaps for how long. The app can reveal social connections and relationships by showing similarities across posts and stories. It can uncover hidden habits and people (like your boss for example) could infer certain things about a person and their regular activities.

The application does not do anything illegal or particularly difficult, but it does streamline a process that can be used by the good guys or the bad guys.

Once installed, the app pulls post information for the individuals you follow going back to the beginning of every person you follow account, and the geotags from stories posted that day. Since Instagram stories (and any geotags contained inside them) vanish following 24 hours, the older expired stories won’t be shown on the guide; notwithstanding, the more you have the application introduced, the more comprehensive the guide gets, as it gobbles up information from each newly created geotagged Instagram story shared by your connections.

The application has two distinct modes—general and single client. General mode shows you a diagram of each location of every follower with the places that they said they have been and when they said they were there, and links to those posts and or story where they show that. For people who follow many individuals, it’s an ocean of pins. Single-client mode permits you to follow a particular individual. Different pins blur away, leaving just one individual’s shared area history, which if they’re a substantial Instagram poster, it can uncover a shocking measure of data about their flow area and every day propensities. Who’s In Town can pull information from private Instagram accounts too. But only if the person that is using the app is a follower of the person whom has their profile set to private. It is not possible for Instagram account users to figure out if one of their friends is utilizing the app to gather and compile all their information, as it works outside of Instagram’s domain and just requires the one user’s consent to do what it does best.

We all know there are risks when traveling. Traveling abroad can bring even more and unique risks. Our Greensboro private investigators have worked cases in over a dozen countries and on three different continents. We have seen, first-hand, some of the things that happen to tourists. Being experienced private investigators has allowed us to develop very acute observational skills and we have a much better understanding of human behavior than the average person. Odds are you’ve heard some stories of travelers becoming victims of a crime or being taken advantage of while on their vacation. Unfortunately, evil exists in all parts of the world and sometimes it can be difficult to avoid. With that said, choosing the right destination can be the first step to having a more safe vacation.  Here, we will discuss 5 different cities where you will have a very good chance of enjoying your adventure peacefully and incident-free. Today we will focus on some of the safest cities that are NOT located in the United States. These locations, around the world, make for great holiday destinations.

• Singapore

Ah, Singapore… What a fantastic city to visit and gorgeous, just as the picture above demonstrates. Violent crimes including murder, assault, and theft are among the lowest in the world. Even police engagement is extremely low. Just as an example, Singapore touts a 135-day, completely crime-free streak, in 2017. There are over 100,000 surveillance cameras deployed throughout the island city and the bad guys know it. Cameras are a huge deterrent to crime, keeping citizens honest and less tempted to stray from the rule of law. Because of this safe environment, the citizens trust each other immensely. It is not uncommon for local businesses to not have windows, doors, or even locks. Singapore is positioning itself for a post-COVID world with massive investment in innovation to the tune of $14 Billion. Singapore is a captivating blend of influences from all over Asia. This city-state packs an unbelievable amount of creativity, culture, and commerce into just 240 square miles. While ultra-modern and business-focused, Singapore never loses sight of its history and heritage which makes it one of the most fascinating places in Asia. Singapore is served by Changi Airport, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to airports. I mean it’s been best in the world 30 times it’s won 480 Awards since 1981. And that’s all great, but why is it so good? Just let me tell you… FREE movie theater check (two of them actually), arcade check, free hotel transit check, and a free tour of Singapore. When you have to layover, be sure to check out the nature trail. The best airport in the world, so you’ve arrived at Changi Airport how do you get into town? Let’s do the cheapest fastest best – The bus is less than two Singapore dollars to get you right into the middle of town. Bus terminals are located below terminals one two and three. A taxi is around 20 to 30 Singapore dollars for the 20-minute ride into town. Just follow the signs in the arrivals hall and go through customs. The MRT is the cheapest, at just over two Singapore dollars. It’s fast and only 30 minutes into the center of town and so easy. The MRT is the best way to get from the airport into town. The airport MRT station is between terminals 2 & 3. I was fortunate enough to assist another private investigator at one of the casinos in Singapore. It was a fun assignment and involved due diligence into a couple of businessmen that a Client was considering investing with. He wanted to know more about their backgrounds and daily habits. Understandable when you’re about to invest several million into a venture in a different country.

• Osaka, Japan

If you’ve never been to Japan, you’re definitely missing out on some fantastic food and scenery. One of our private investigators was fortunate to work a case in Osaka that lasted nearly a month and a half. She did not want to come back lol. There are 2.6 million people that live in Osaka, making it the second-largest Japanese city. It is also home to a very wealthy population and is considered the 2nd safest city, in terms of violent crime, just behind Singapore. Our agent was able to team up with a top-local investigator and get the job done for our Client with maximum results. The Client was so pleased with our results that he allowed our private investigator to stay an additional week, all expenses paid, to really see and enjoy the city. Just because Osaka is one of the safest cities, don’t think that it’s also boring. Osaka has stylish and interesting restaurants and a very happening nightlife. But, Japan’s legendary train Network is awesome. There’s a good chance you could be arriving in Osaka like the kids do on a train, a bullet train to be precise.  The network and that will get you pretty much anywhere in the city once you’ve arrived in Osaka on your trusty mechanical steed of choice; you have plenty of options for getting around this incredible city. But pay attention because there are some intricacies that can trip you up, if you don’t know about them. Osaka is served by seven different subway and railway companies, which to the uninitiated sounds overwhelming and confusing, but fear not, this being Japan the whole thing works beautifully. The Osaka subway system is the second-largest system in Japan, so it’s the obvious choice for getting around the city. If you’ve been to Tokyo (another very safe city, BTW) and you’ve used the subway system there, you’ll have no problem with their system. They are almost identical, right down to the signage and ticketing systems. Fares are based on the distance you’re traveling and start around 200. As a complement to the subway lines, there’s the Jr Osaka loop line, which as the clever name suggests runs in a loop around Osaka. It’s not quite as handy is the indispensable Yamanote, a line in Tokyo, but it does the trick getting you around the city and connected to other rail and subway lines. Again, tickets are based on distance and can be purchased from the multilingual machines in every station or using your pay-as-you-go card, so the one thing to note about when you’re topping up your card is the machines are in English and the instructions are in English. You pop it in but they only take cash no type of credit cards. Coins are fine, bills are fine, but they only take cash because of the fractured nature of the ownership of the various subway and railway lines. In Osaka it is absolutely imperative that you grab an IC or stored value card, otherwise technically every time you change lines, you have to buy a new ticket. Now, the version in Osaka is called the Akaka which we just learned means adorable. You can pick one up from one of the vending machines in the railway stations or from one of the main kiosks. But if you’re coming from another Japanese city, there’s a very good chance that the stored value system, from that city, will work in Osaka as well.

• Reykjavik, Iceland

Wherever you step in this city, nature beckons you… Over windswept waters, across the mountains, and into limitless horizons. Many of the country’s most popular sights are within easy reach of Reykjavík, often by public transport. There are literally no areas to avoid in Reykjavik and homelessness, drugs, and crime are essentially non-existent. I should know because I have personally worked an adultery investigation that took me to this wonderful place. I got to follow the lovers ALL over. Not only did I get to take in the sights, I was also able to get great surveillance video of the cheating couple acting as if they were married. Reykjavik is an easy city for new travelers to explore as there is very little chance of being scammed by dishonest locals or being pickpocketed.  I also found the most beautiful building in all of Iceland. One could even argue the most stunning in all of Europe. The building is Harpa, a theater and conference center that has the most stunning architecture that I’ve ever seen. Its exterior is made almost entirely out of glass and the building is controversial for how expensive it was to build, in a time when Iceland’s economy didn’t need such a large building project, but it doesn’t matter the architectural marvel is there anyways I recommend it. For tourists to need a place to hang out before you check into your hotel as the evening settles in and the northern Sun still shines. The city becomes more alive, with a population of 220,000. For a relatively small city, I knew the people had to be somewhere. To finally see some crowds made me feel more comfortable and easier to hide from my targets in the city. I enjoyed walking around in the heart of it and walked around downtown a lot. I didn’t expect there to be so many restaurants, art and interesting details on the street. The central part of downtown alone has more than 100 restaurants, bars, galleries, and cafes. Really I came to this country for a private investigator job, but its natural beauty was good loved the urban style of its capital as well.  With the help of a city sightseeing tour bus that picked the cheating spouses and I up in front of Harpa. I was able to discover some other places I wouldn’t find on my own, so we boarded the bus and put in the headphones to listen to what the English narration had to say and see what else was special in this small northern capital city. They decided to get off on about the sixth or seventh stop of the tour and visit the national museum of Iceland. It was a bit further from the city center, but still a must for a city tour. The entrance was welcoming and led right to the beginning of the exhibits. Admission wasn’t bad at all and the exhibits inside were very much worth it. They were filled with real Viking artifacts; basically, everywhere they (and I) went through the entire history of Iceland up to modern times. It’s a wonderful place to learn some history and maybe if you go out on a tour on the island you might see one of the historical places mentioned. After all, Iceland has one of the best and longest fully documented histories. We waited for the bus so we could get to the next stop which was the Perlan, a beautiful glass structure that sits on top of six of Reykjavik. Hot water storage tanks you inside there was a beautiful interior, a gift shop and artificial geyser, a restaurant and café… And the most beautiful view of the city on the observation deck. Up there the force of the wind was magnified. I’ve said earlier that Reykjavik is a small city, but viewing it from the Perlan gave a wonderful panorama that makes one change their mind. And believe it or not, there were still plenty more places left around to enjoy.

• Vienna, Austria

The Austrian capital sits by a river. It has palaces, art galleries, museums, but has a very modern culture. Vienna appeals to travelers from all over the world. Mozart and Beethoven, both, lived here. Violent crimes and muggings are rare here. Just take the normal precautions against pickpockets and be logical when it comes to bargaining with locals and you’ll easily avoid getting robbed or scammed. One of our Greensboro private investigators spent 4 days in this glorious city. The unsuspecting couple had no idea they were being surveilled. Cheating wife and a cheating husband called us to this city and we were able to get all the evidence the Client needed to assert her case and get alimony for years to come. She was also able to prove alienation of affection and got a hefty settlement from the adulterous woman. The Schonbrunn Palace… You have to come see this palace because it’s gorgeous! Built in the 1600s 1700s, they kept remodeling and adding to it. It was essentially a wedding gift for Maria Teresa. It’s built an Anil classical architectural style. The palace itself is very pretty, very beautiful, but the gardens that they built around it I feel are more impressive. Then you have this kind of facade thingy appear on the top of the hill. It’s worth it to climb the hill to get a view of the palace. All of the inner and the Cathedral are seen out here on the horizon. It’s not a very difficult climb. Also, you should walk around the gardens because they’re really pretty and when they put up these gardens, they added pheasants and fowls and wild boars and stuff like that, so they could do some hunting on the grounds. To make it a summer retreat, they’d come here and hang out and have tea. The hops burst by the way and they would talk about which region of Europe they should conquer next. I mean there is a beautiful house here, but have you seen the leaves?? It truly is a photographer’s dream. But if you want to do more than just walk around and see the gardens then there’s also a zoo you can visit and a labyrinth. I did the labyrinth in 2019 and it was a lot of fun. The thing I like about this place is that it’s so large, that regardless of how many people are here, you can always find something that’s a little secluded, like the garden. And it’s so cool because you have it all to yourself. Then there are statues and of course the birds and the blue skies. St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the heart of the center of Vienna and the inner old city built in the eleven hundreds and rebuilt over the old churches finished. In this form you see it now in the 1300s it is a gorgeous Cathedral and if you go on TripAdvisor one of the first reviews when you login the first thing they say is “oh my God”, because it’s so pretty inside.

• Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Interestingly, over half of this middle-eastern city’s population is made up of ex-patriots. Many foreigners come to Abu Dhabi for business opportunities, but end up staying because of its extremely safe and easy-going atmosphere. Abu Dhabi is one of the safest cities in the Middle East, as well as in the world. Travelers have a very low risk of being mugged, pickpocketed, or scammed. Women that were asked how safe they felt in UAE, said that they felt as safe as they do in their home cities, just as long as you follow the rules. Two of our Greensboro private investigators once accompanied a businessman and a large sum of jewelry to this beautiful country. We provided an advance security analysis and mapped out the entire itinerary, before the important trip, to facilitate a business deal. Private detectives in Abu Dhabi were of great help and provided much-needed intel on a couple of people that were to meet with our Client. There’s something unusual about Abu Dhabi, the largest region of the United Arab Emirates. They’re thirsty for development I might describe it as over-the-top, but I don’t think they’ve decided where the top is yet. In 60 years the region has transformed from desert to cosmopolitan city and it keeps on growing, with luxurious malls and soaring high-rises. Surely they would have sufficient sidewalks of tourists right? Perhaps not. Oh well, I press on to see the sights, starting with Grand Mosque in the al Mokhtar district. But come prepared…. A strict dress code applies. The grand mosque can hold up to 41,000 worshippers it features over 1000 columns, gold-plated walls and chandeliers made with seemingly millions of crystals. It looks like something from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Like I could just eat those crystals. They’re kind of like best applied they’ll say something about it being very grounding about going barefoot on the carpet you can feel the texture of the place. Also, that everyone here is barefoot. Together everybody has the solidarity of the soul… And now we’re off to the Emirates Palace, the city’s iconic luxury hotel. I walked through the central quadrant of the Emirates Palace and it is my favorite word “opulent”. Just don’t tell the staff that I snuck in there wearing sandals or else I might get kicked out next visit. Nevertheless, I continued through the hotel to find other gems. The real point of coming to Abu Dhabi is to “feel rich.” (At least that’s what I heard one Client’s wife say to her lover, while spying on them during dinner.) Here, we have the world’s first gold vending machine and you can pick a currency, and then down here you can choose a design of something that you want or you can just get a gold coin. Then on to the hotel’s cultural museum and from what I understand, David Audio Islands is a new cultural concept that the government and Tourism Board of Abu Dhabi have come up with to educate the public about the history of Abu Dhabi and the Emirates, prior to the development in the region, which has made it such a modern metropolis that it is today.

I say all of this to say, that traveling abroad can be safe and rewarding as long as you chose the right places and plan accordingly. And if you ever find yourself needing international private investigation services, feel free to give us a call. Our private investigators have contacts all over the world and we’ve been to many cities and countries that lovers flock to for a romantic getaway. We’ve investigated other types of domestic cases that have taken us abroad as well. Once we traveled to Mexico to locate a child and assist authorities in getting the child back to his father here in the states. The mother had abducted their young daughter, during one of her scheduled visitations and never returned her. This is just one of many types of cases our professional private investigators conduct on a daily basis.

In a time of lockdowns, quarantine and self-isolation due to the Coronavirus, it’s possible that social distancing has got you thinking about how to find someone. This could be one or more people in your life who you have lost contact with, and who you might be desperate to find and connect with.

If you’re alone during this uncertain time, it’s also understandable that you would want to reach out to someone from your past. Perhaps you’re even thinking about reconnecting with someone that you had a relationship with many years ago before it was easy to keep in touch via texting and social media.

No matter what the reason, or who the person is, it’s possible to find someone that you’ve lost touch with through several “how to locate a person” methods. One of these processes is called skip tracing.

Skip tracing refers to tracking someone who has “skipped” town and is often used in the context of bail bonds or bounty hunting. This is also one of the many skills that we, as Private Investigators in Greensboro, specialize in.

Of course, in this case, the person you are looking for would not have necessarily “skipped” town, but the same approach applies. As private detectives, we have a lot of experience in this and can offer the following tips when looking for a person from your past.

5 Tips From Private Detectives In Greensboro, NC, On How To Locate A Person You’ve Lost Contact With

1. Collect As Much Information As Possible

If you are wondering how to locate person data, the easiest answer is to look online. However, before you do that, take the time to sit down and think about all of the information you have about this person. This will help when you start the process of figuring out how to find someone online.

This includes remembering their full name, as well as what they did when you knew them. Taking a photo of an old photograph of the person with your smartphone, or scanning it into digital format, will also make the online search much easier. This information is quite easy to gather, and the more information you have upfront will help you considerably in your search. If your online research is coming up empty, perhaps have one of our professional private investigators conduct a background check, using as little as just a name.

2. Consult Government Records

Not all personal information is available to the public, but if you’re a bit intimidated by online Google searches, you can also pay a visit to your local archive website to find out more general information about the person first. This could include mentions of them in the public press, or whether they have registered a company.

If you’re wondering how to locate personal data for someone who lives far away, you could also get in touch with a national archive via email for more direction. In this case, they may be able to do a wider search on your behalf, even while working remotely. The person you’re looking for might be in another country, in which case, you may need to ask for the details of the local country’s archives and ask them to do a similar search for you. As private investigators in Greensboro, NC, we have dealt with many cases of finding people through public records, but it could be an interesting process for you to learn more about this person first. If this person is a family member, this kind of exercise could also prove interesting for finding out more about your heritage too.

3. Conduct An Online Search On Google

Of course, this is where many people would have begun their search. However, by following the first two steps, you have already gathered a solid amount of information to work with. This will work to your advantage as knowing how to find someone online can be trickier than it appears at first glance.

This is especially the case if you’re wondering how to locate person data for someone with a very common name. With the information you have already gathered, you can now add more search terms into the search bar on Google, or another search engine of your choice, to make your search more refined. Of course, the more accurate the information you have is, the better the results are going to be. Using a digital photograph, you can even search on Google Images to find other images online that match.

4. Use Social Media

Once again, this is where many people might begin their search, but we all know that not everyone makes their profiles public. Once again, as with search engines like Google, if the person has a common name it makes them more difficult to find on these sites – unless you have a photograph or two of them. There are also many different social media sites, and the person you might be looking for might not use all of them. So, it’s a good idea to search all of them and, if you’ve followed all of the steps above, you would probably have a lot more information to work with.

5. Consult A Private Investigator

If you still can’t find a trace of the person you’re looking for, the next step is to bring in some professional help. As private investigators in Greensboro, NC, we are a licensed and insured service provider that can help with skip tracing and knowing how to locate person data so that you can get hold of someone that you’ve lost touch with.

With years of experience, we can take you through all the necessary steps, as we’ve outlined above, in addition to the many other methods of information retrieval that we have at our disposal.

Final Thoughts On How To Find Someone That You’ve Lost Touch With

If you live in the triad area, we can help you learn how to find someone that you want to get in contact with again, no matter how many years it’s been since you’ve seen them. In a time of great uncertainty with the Coronavirus spreading around the world, we’re here to help you, remotely, during this challenging time.

Sometimes, people think that if they delete an email by sending it to the “Trash” section of their Inbox, it is gone for good.

It is not.

Like many forms of electronic communication, email is harder to completely get rid of than many people realize. There are many implications to this, but the one we want to discuss here is how getting deleted email can be a boon to the investigative process.

At Victory Private Investigations, we work with clients who want to uncover information that they believe is being kept secret from them for less-than-positive reasons. Our clients often include spouses who suspect their partners of infidelity, former spouses who think their ex is not being truthful with regard to child custody or support, parents who want to keep tabs on their kids and the like.

Recovering “deleted” email is helpful for these investigations because it can reveal information that the user wrongly thought was gone forever.

Now, in some cases, recovering deleted email is easy, and other times it takes a certain amount of technological expertise, called “computer forensics.” At Victory Private Investigations, we have the technical know-how necessary to find “deleted email” in many circumstances. Not every private investigation firm has the computer forensics skill that we do.

If you are interested in learning more about us, please feel free to contact us at any time that is convenient for you. Uncovering the truth is our business, and you might be surprised to learn what “secret” information we can help you recover.

Our Private Investigators and Certified Digital Forensic Specialists can perform computer forensics to get the valuable data you need. Please contact our private investigators for Greensboro NC for further assistance. Also, free free to add us to your Google+ Circles!