If you're anything like me, you hit peak Insta-game when you're on holiday. You break all the usual rules, spamming Instagram stories and sometimes posting on your grid twice a day to smugly show off how you're living your best life - and you don't feel the least bit guilty about it.

But here's a reality check: it's actually a pretty risky thing to do.

According to experts, sharing too much on your social media accounts while you're away travelling can make you a hot target for thieves.

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Sure, it's not like you're wave a big red flag with your address printed on it on your profile, begging burglars to come and ransack your home. But it's easier than you think for potential predators to monitor social media for all the bits of information they need to lead them to where you live.

"Although it’s fun to post vacation photos and let everyone know you’re having a cocktail on a sunny beach, that sends a clear signal to burglars that your home is empty," said Ruby Gonzalez, Communications Director of NordVPN.

If a would-be burglar has this information, they could scan your profile for previous posts that feature parts of your home, or that are tagged with the town or general area where you live, to work out roughly where your empty house is located. I don't know about you, but a broken-into house isn't exactly the 'welcome home' I'd like to return to after two weeks away on holiday.

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You might dismiss this warning as extremely unlikely, and go on your way posting photos of yourself posing on a unicorn pool float from a villa in Spain, but new research suggests it's not as far-fetched as it sounds.

A survey carried out on more than 2,000 people by home interiors specialist www.hillarys.co.uk revealed that one in 12 Britons have been burgled after bragging on social media. Over half admitted they had tagged their location on their posts.

The respondents who took in part in the survey were asked whether they typically updated their social media channels to share with followers when they were on holiday, and a staggering 81% reported doing so.

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But despite so many people having become victims of robberies as a result of location tagging on social media, the majority admitted they hadn't changed their online habits since being burgled. 67% of the people surveyed said they had continued to post holiday photos or pictures of expensive items after being stolen from.

The most common things stolen, the research revealed, were electrical goods, jewellery and cash.



If you want to avoid being a target for thieves, the experts at NordVPN advise waiting until you get home to post your holiday pictures. Alternatively, they suggest making sure your social media accounts are private so that only approved friends can view your activity.

Whichever one works best for you, take your pick.

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Catriona Harvey-Jenner Digital Features Editor Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs.

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