Anika Begay
Instagram has started testing a new feature that looks a lot like Snap Maps.
This allows Instagram users to post text and video updates on a map based on where they were taken. The map is shared with friends, whose updates can be viewed side by side. It’s more or less just Snap Maps, which originally launched in 2017.
The difference for now appears to be that Instagram may have much more limited privacy settings. Users must choose a “specific group of people” to share their location with, such as “Close Friends or just followers who follow back,” said Christine Pai, a spokeswoman for Meta. The limitSnapchat allows public posts to be made on Snap Maps.
Instagram’s feature is currently available only as a “small test” in some markets, Pai said. The tool is opt-in and includes controls for sharing location. “As always, we are building this feature with security in mind,” Pai said. He did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about whether fully public sharing would be offered or how long posts would remain online.
The maps feature was first spotted in development in February under the name “Friend Map.” Then this week, images of the feature in use began to leak to the public. Pai did not say where the feature is currently being tested.
Instagram had a photo feature in 2012 that put all your pictures on a map, but the feature was completely private: It couldn’t be shared with friends and only included your own pictures. It was a fun way to look at your photo collection, but the company shut it down four years later, citing low usage.
If it were to be widely implemented, the Maps feature would be a return to something Instagram has always done well: copying ideas from its competitors. Stories came from Snapchat, Reels from TikTok, and, if you want to call it an Instagram feature, Threads from Twitter. Now, it’s time to return to Snapchat.
