Instagram's new Map feature lets you track friends in real-time
In a move that aligns with the growing trend of location sharing on apps and devices, Instagram has announced Map, a new opt-in feature allowing users to share their location with friends, similar to options already available on platforms like Snapchat and Apple’s "Find My."
Starting today, Aug. 6, the feature will be available to users in the U.S., offering a convenient way to coordinate meetups with friends and explore local hotspots that your favorite creators have shared or engaged with. When you open the Instagram app, you can see which friends are nearby by clicking on the "Map" circle on your messages page. The circle expands into an interactive map, so you can follow your friends and see their location-based content.
While location sharing has become a common tool for keeping track of loved ones, planning in-person events, or seeing what your ex is up to (which we don't recommend), Instagram's new feature offers robust controls and flexible privacy settings. Whether you want to check out a friend's favorite local café or join a live event nearby, the new functionality aims to enhance social connections while keeping personal data secure.
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Key features and privacy controls
By default, Instagram’s location-sharing feature is off, and location updates only occur when the app is open, so users retain full control over when and how their location is shared. The app offers various options, from sharing your whereabouts with a select group of friends (such as those on your Close Friends list) to hiding your location entirely from specific users or places.
This new tool also allows users to explore location-based content shared by their friends or favorite creators.
However, this trend of discovering local spots via social media has had a notable downside — like when your favorite neighborhood spots get overwhelmed by social media-driven attention, turning once-quiet locales into overcrowded influencer traps.
A new way to stay connected
Instagram's move into the location-sharing space is a response to increasing demand for more dynamic ways to connect with others. These days, it's all about sharing experiences in real-time, and there's something satisfying about knowing that a post is grounded in where you actually are.
Though, just be careful; while it’s fun to feel connected, you don’t always want the world to know exactly where you are.
Topics Instagram
Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
