They collect all kinds of data, and it’s tied to users Instagram account. There are tons of data that could indicate given users geographical location without IP (gps, phone service provider, credit card uses, user profile, etc.)

Anything in particular you did so it does not store any data? I’m thinking I should try out the same on a cheap VPS.

It’s like saying the police is preparing for thieves robbing the bank or the fire department preparing for a wildfire. It’s part of their job and it would be stranger not to have a contingency plan.

Are you in Russia right now? How are things over there?

Does that mean my actual home server is behind a VPN connection but has its traffic transparently routed to the external VPS, which eliminates the need for opening ports on the residential router?