Instagram ‘Friends Map’ feature will allow close friends to track you in real-time

Meta-owned Instagram seems to be working on a feature that will let your friends know of your whereabouts. Titled ‘Friends Map’, the feature will allow users to share their location (of course, selectively) with their close friends and followers via their smartphone app.

The feature, which was first spotted by Reverse Engineer Alessandro Paluzzi last year on X (formerly Twitter), has recently been confirmed by a Meta spokesperson. Wondering how it will work? Here’s what you should know.

Instagram 'Friends Map': What's there to know?

In the post, Paluzzi shares screenshots of what the feature, only developed, should look like. According to the post, Instagram users will most likely be able to choose who gets to see their location and only share it with followers who are following them back.

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Apart from this, users will be able to leave short ‘notes ‘-like messages that will be visible to others on the map. And, of course, users will be able to use a Ghost mode to turn off their real-time location or, alternatively, only share it with their Close Friends list.

When will the Instagram 'Friends Map' feature be available?

Instagram, so far, has not chosen to comment on when or if this feature will be available for its users. The company had also been testing its ‘Flipside‘ feature, which didn’t seem to roll out for a majority of its users. Regardless, this wouldn’t be the first time a Meta-owned platform has borrowed a feature from rival social media app Snapchat.

Meta, in 2016, added the popular Stories feature to WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. However, the Friends Map feature, too, is a crucial Snapchat feature that might just be replicated onto Instagram, albeit with a twist, in the near future. That said, Instagram seems to be leaving its initial image of a photo and video-sharing app far behind, and it remains to be seen how it will expand to stay relevant in the future.