BackInstagram to soon bring a Snap Maps like feature. What is it and how will it work?
Instagram's new feature allows users to post updates to a shared map with specific privacy settings. It is being tested in limited markets and is built with safety in mind, the company said in a statement.
PremiumInstagram is testing a new feature that allows users to post text and video updates to a map based on where they were taken, and this map can be shared with other users so that their updates can appear next to each other, according to a report from The Verge. Notably, the Snap Maps feature has been part of the Snap app since 2017, but Instagram's version of the feature is said to have more limited privacy settings.
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Instagram will allow users to choose the specific group of people they want to share their location with, such as "close friends" or "only followers they follow back," a Meta spokesperson told The Verge. They also stated that Instagram is building this feature with "safety in mind", while remaining tight-lipped on further details of the service. According to the report, Instagram's new feature will be opt-in and will only be available as a "small test" in a few markets.
However, this isn't the first time the feature has been spotted. A previous report in February suggested that the meta-owned social media giant was working on a 'friend map' feature that was being tested. Instagram also had a similar type of photo feature in 2012 that allowed users to place all of their images on a map, but this feature was completely private and could not be shared with friends. This feature was eventually shut down in 2016 due to low usage.
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Notably, this isn't the first time that Instagram is copying a feature from one of its competitors. Some of the app's most popular features like Reels and Stories were also inspired from TikTok and Snapchat respectively. More recently, X's Elon Musk had called Instagram's Threads a copy cat app of the former and also threatened to sue company for exploiting Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property.
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