Instagram is working on a feature that will allow users to share real-time information with friends on a map. According to The Verge, the new feature has been in the works since February this year and is currently being tested in a few small markets.
Instagram users can share textual or video updates using this feature, and the updates will be pinned to the places from which they are shared. Only people who you have added to your Close Friends list or who you follow back can see them, though. Similar notes that your friends have uploaded will show up on the same map next to one another. Not every Instagram user will have default access to this function.
Since 2017, Snapchat has included a comparable feature. The main distinction between the two, though, is that while Instagram is unwilling to take that chance, Snap Maps allows users to share their map updates publicly for everyone to see. A Meta spokesperson told The Verge “As always, we are building this feature with safety in mind.” It is unclear how long the map updates will be available.
This is not the first time the Meta-owned social media platform has taken this turn. A feature that let users see their uploaded images on a map was one of the platform’s early experiments, from 2012. However, the fact that users could not share the photographs on the map made the service unpopular. This feature was finally discontinued in 2016 owing to limited usage.
Notably, this is not the first time Instagram has copied a competitor’s functionality. Reels and Stories, two of the app’s most popular features, were inspired by TikTok and Snapchat, respectively.
Elon Musk, CEO of X (formally Twitter), recently accused Instagram’s Threads of being a copycat app of the former and threatened to sue the firm for exploiting Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.
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