Instagram Map With Location Sharing Rolls Out Alongside TikTok-Inspired Friends Tab and Reposts

Instagram is rolling out three new features to the photo and video sharing platform. The company says that its new Instagram map feature is designed to show users the locations of their friends on a map, and it is inspired by the Snap Map feature provided by rival Snapchat. Instagram will also allow users to repost reels and posts and see a new Friends tab in Reels, just like TikTok. Others will also be able to view what a user has reposted on their profile.

Instagram Brings Reposts, Friends Tab in Reels to Users in India

The Meta-owned social media platform announced that it is introducing three new features, and Gadgets 360 was able to confirm that the Reposts and the Friends section in the Reels tab are already available to users in India. Meanwhile, the Instagram map feature with location sharing is currently available in the US.

The first feature allows Instagram users to repost public reels and posts from other users, and these will also be recommended to their friends and followers. The reposts will also appear in a separate tab on a user's profile, creating an archive for people to revisit. However, the reels and posts that have been reposted are credited to the original poster.

Instagram repost and the 'Friends tab' features are now live in India
Photo Credit: Instagram

A content creator's reels and posts that have been reposted by an Instagram user will be shown to the people who don't follow them, potentially increasing the reach of their content. As per the blog, one can repost a reel or post by simply tapping on the newly added icon. People will also have the choice to add a note to the content they have reposted by typing into the “thought bubble” that is displayed on screen, followed by pressing the save button.

How the New Instagram Map Feature Works

The new Instagram Map is heavily inspired by the Snapchat-like feature that shows people a user's location. Instagram users will have the option to share their last active location with the friends of their choice, along with the ability to turn it off anytime they wish to. It will also show them the content that the people they follow are posting from different locations. The app will update a user's location each time they open the app.

Instagram says location sharing is disabled by default, and users must turn it on manually. The social media app also allows people to customise their location. Apart from selecting who can has access to their Instagram map, parents can supervise their teen's location sharing settings on the app. Instagram will send a notification to the parent or guardian when their children start sharing their location with others.

On top of this, Instagram Map will display location-based content to people. Location-tagged content will be shown on the map, like reels, posts, and stories from people a user follows, which will be available for 24 hours after it has been posted, along with notes from other users people mutually follow. Instagram Map, which is currently only available in the US, has been added to the inbox section.

The third and last feature brings a new ‘Friends' section in the Reels tab. People will be able to see publicly shared reels that others have either interacted with or were part of the recommendations from Blends. Instagram claims that users will be able to “easily” initiate conversations about reposted content. Currently available in India, the feature can also be customised to hide a user's likes and comments on reels, along with muting activity bubbles from others they follow.