Aug 06, 2025 - Instagram has introduced a new feature called Instagram Map, aimed at enhancing user interaction by allowing them to share their most recent active location and explore location-based content. Announced on August 6, 2025, this move by the Meta-owned platform directly challenges Snapchat’s Snap Map, which boasts over 400 million monthly active users. The feature, which echoes Snapchat’s location-sharing capabilities, is part of Instagram’s ongoing strategy to adopt and adapt popular functionalities from competitors, following its earlier adoption of Stories in 2016, Reels from TikTok, and Threads from Twitter (now X).
Instagram Map, accessible at the top of the DM inbox, enables users to discover content tied to specific locations, such as a friend’s story from a nearby music festival or a creator’s reel about a new local restaurant. Unlike Snapchat’s Snap Map, which allows users to choose between real-time location updates or updates only when the app is opened, Instagram Map updates locations only when the app is active, with location sharing disabled by default for enhanced privacy. Instagram also offers a temporary real-time location-sharing option via DMs, limited to one hour, contrasting with the indefinite sharing options on Snapchat and Apple’s Find My.
A key feature of Instagram Map is the ability to post “Notes,” short messages that users can pin to specific locations on the map, expanding the existing Notes feature from the DM inbox. This allows users to leave brief updates visible to selected friends or followers, fostering social engagement. Instagram emphasizes privacy, allowing users to share their location with specific groups, such as Close Friends or mutual followers, unlike Snapchat’s option for public posts. The feature also includes a “Ghost mode” to hide a user’s last active location, and location data is expected to be end-to-end encrypted, aligning with Instagram’s focus on safety.
The launch, initially rolled out in the United States on August 6, 2025, with global availability planned soon, revives Instagram’s earlier experiments with location-based features. In 2012, Instagram tested a private photo map, discontinued in 2016 due to low engagement. The new Instagram Map also appeals to users familiar with Zenly, a social map app acquired and later shut down by Snap in 2023.
Alongside Instagram Map, the platform introduced a “Reposts” feature, inspired by TikTok and Twitter’s retweet function, allowing users to share public reels and posts to their feeds or a dedicated Reposts tab on their profiles. Users can add personal notes to reposts, enhancing content sharing. Additionally, the “Friends” tab in Reels, now available globally after a U.S. launch earlier in 2025, displays public reels that friends have engaged with. Privacy-conscious users can opt out of having their interactions shown in this tab or mute specific accounts’ activity.
Concerns about privacy have surfaced, particularly given Instagram’s younger user base and past issues with harassment. Posts on X have highlighted fears that location-sharing features could enable malicious actors to track users, emphasizing the need for robust safeguards. Instagram’s stricter privacy settings compared to Snapchat’s public-sharing option aim to address these concerns, but questions remain about the duration posts stay visible on the map.
Instagram Map positions the platform to compete with Snapchat while appealing to users seeking location-based social discovery. As Instagram continues to evolve, this feature underscores its strategy of integrating proven functionalities with tailored privacy controls to retain and engage its global audience.
