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Instagram is working on a new feature called ‘Friend Map’ which will allow users on the platform to check their friends’ location in real-time. First spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi last year on X, the new feature was confirmed by a Meta spokesperson in a reply to TechCrunch.
A recent report by the publication also suggested that Friend Map is currently being tested as an internal prototype. Going by screenshots shared by Paluzzi in a post on Threads, it looks like Instagram users will be able to choose who can see their location and share it with followers who are following them back.
Users will also be able to leave short messages in the form of ‘Notes’, which others can see. Moreover, it looks like the new functionality also comes with a ‘Ghost Mode’ that will allow users to hide their last active location and the ability to share their location with those in the ‘Close friends’ list.
If Instagram decides to roll out the currently under development ‘Friends Map’ feature, it won’t be the first time the Meta-owned social media platform borrows something from Snapchat, with the former copying the Stories feature from Snapchat in 2016.
Recently, Instagram expanded its creator marketplace to India, which the company says is driven by automated recommendations backed by machine learning to analyze data and suggest creators partnerships it thinks are the ideal fit for them.
