Instagram Challenges Snapchat with New Location-Sharing Feature

Instagram is adding the ability for users to share their location with friends via DMs (direct messaging), the firm revealed on Monday. The functionality suggests that the Meta-owned social network intends to compete with services such as Apple’s Find My and Snapchat’s Snap Map, both of which are popular ways for users to view the live whereabouts of their friends and loved ones.

Instagram was caught testing a mechanism for users to see their friends’ live locations earlier this year, so the feature’s rollout isn’t entirely unexpected. It’s worth mentioning that WhatsApp, Meta’s other messaging program, has long allowed users to share their real-time location with others.

Unlike Apple and Snapchat, which let you to broadcast your location with others indefinitely, Instagram allows users to do so for only one hour. Instagram says this feature can be used to plan arrival times or find buddies in crowded spaces.

You can opt to share your location with a single person or a group conversation. Once you reveal your location, only the people in that chat will be able to see it, and it cannot be forwarded to other chats. You will also notice an icon at the top of the chat that reminds you that you are presently sharing your live location.

All live locations will expire in one hour. Given that WhatsApp allows you to share your position with others for up to eight hours, Instagram’s time limit on location sharing could alter in the future.

According to the corporation, the new feature is currently only available in a few countries. TechCrunch contacted out for further information.

Instagram also announced on Monday that users may now modify their names in direct messages by adding nicknames for themselves or others. According to the firm, the feature can be used to convey an inside joke or to simplify lengthy usernames.

To create a nickname, tap on the chat name at the top of a conversation and select “Nicknames.” From there, you may choose the username of the person you wish to give a nickname to. Nicknames are only displayed in DM chats.

In addition, Instagram is releasing 17 new sticker packs including over 300 stickers that may be shared in direct messages.