High-resolution selfies, hidden dangers: stalkers can track you down from social media photo posts. It’s happened already

Phone manufacturers keep improving the quality and range of handsets’ cameras, allowing users to shoot images that show unprecedented detail when you zoom in

A man in Japan stalked a pop star after studying a photo she posted online and working out her location based on the reflections of a building in her eyes

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The 32-megapixel pop-up selfie camera module on the Vivo X27 Pro smartphone. The high-resolution images it shoots contain details a stalker could use to track you down. Photo: Ben Sin

Published: 1:00am, 21 Oct 2019Updated: 7:30pm, 21 Oct 2019

When it comes to sensitive information, the eyes have it.

That became apparent when a man recently allegedly stalked a Japanese pop star after determining her location based on reflections seen in her eyes in social media posts.

Those images helped the suspect find her railway station. He then used Google Street View and other details shared from where she lives to find her home.

The incident raises serious questions about privacy in the age of ubiquitous high-resolution images and social media.

Japanese idol Ena Matsuoka was attacked outside her home last month after a fan figured out her address from selfies she posted on social media by zooming in on the reflection on her pupils (left) and Google Street View (right).

Today, the average smartphone user can create incredibly detailed photos and share them with millions of people at the click of a button. The same process can also expose personal information few selfie-takers realise they are revealing.

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