Instagram has begun the rollout of its Maps feature in India after initially releasing it in the US and Canada in August. The new feature is opt-in, meaning it is turned off by default and users would have to turn it on in the settings to get started.
It allows users to share their last active location with the friends they choose and also see their friends’ updates and location-tagged content on a map. Users can either share their location with a select group of friends or with anyone they follow and who follow them back.
The feature gives users the option to explore geo-tagged Reels, Stories, Notes, and posts from the people they follow. It also provides them the ability to check out nearby cafés, track travel updates from friends, or explore trending locations.
Parents will also get a notification when their teen tags their location on Instagram, and they will have the ability to turn it off.
Brett Westervelt, VP, Head of Instagram Design, revealed in a blog post that the company has made two changes from the US and Canada rollout. First, users will get a more persistent indicator at the top of the map and the top of the inbox, with an additional note reminding users whether or not they are sharing location.
Second, when users go to tag content on Instagram with a location, they are reminded that this location will be visible for 24 hours.
The company says that it will also show an ‘educational reminder’ that when the user adds a location tag to a story, reel, or post, it will show up on the Map.
Instagram has also removed the profile photos of the user from Map content in order to make it clear that it is not someone’s location.
Users will also be shown a preview of how their content will look on the Map after they add the location to the Instagram reel or story.
