Instagram is introducing a feature that will allow users to share their location with friends through direct messages (DMs), the company announced on Monday. The feature signals that the Meta-owned social network is taking on services like Apple's Find My and Snapchat's Snap Map, which are popular ways for users to see the live locations of friends and loved ones. I am.
The launch of this feature comes as no complete surprise, as Instagram was seen testing a way for users to see the live locations of their friends earlier this year. It's worth noting that Meta's other messaging app, WhatsApp, has been allowing users to share their live location with other users for quite some time.
Unlike Apple and Snapchat, which allow you to share your location with others indefinitely, Instagram only allows users to share for up to an hour. Instagram says the feature can be used to adjust arrival times and find friends in crowded places.
Image credit: Instagram
You can choose to share your location with one person or in a group chat. When you share your location, only participants in that particular chat can see your location, and your location can't be transferred to other chats. You'll also see an indicator at the top of the chat letting you know you're currently sharing your live location.
All live locations will expire after 1 hour. Given that WhatsApp allows you to share your location with other users for up to eight hours, Instagram's time limit for location sharing may change in the future.
The company says this new feature is available in some countries. TechCrunch reached out for more details.
Instagram also announced Monday that users can now customize names in their DMs by adding nicknames for themselves or others. The company says the feature can be used to share inside jokes or simply shorten long usernames.
Tap the chat name at the top of the conversation,[ニックネーム]Select to create a nickname. From there, you can select the username of the person you want to assign a nickname to. Nicknames are only visible in DM chat.
Additionally, Instagram is rolling out 17 new sticker packs with over 300 stickers that you can share in your DMs.