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 then shared with friends, whose updates can appear together. It's basically the same as Snap Maps, which was originally launched in 2017.
The difference for now appears to be that instagram may have much more limited privacy settings. Users have to choose a “specific group of people” to share their location with, such as “close friends or just followers they follow,” said Christine Pai, a spokeswoman for Meta. The edgeSnapchat allows you to make public posts on Snap Maps.
The instagram feature is currently only available as a “small test” in some markets, Pai said. The tool is optional and includes controls for location sharing. “As always, we are developing this feature with safety in mind,” Pai said. He did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about whether the ability to share completely publicly would be offered or how long posts would remain.
The maps feature was first spotted instagram-confirms-developing-snap-map-like-friend-map-feature/”>In development In February, under the name “Friends Map”, this week, some images of the function in use instagram-just-added-a-map-to-see-your-followers-real-time-location-and-were-shooketh.html”>began to drip in public. Pai did not say where the feature is currently being tested.
instagram had a photos feature in 2012 that put all your images on a map, but the feature was completely private: you couldn't share it with friends and it only included your own images. It was a fun way to view your photo collection, but the company removed it four years later, citing that it was underused.
