Instagram has launched its new Map feature in India, allowing users to share their last active location with selected friends and explore posts, reels, stories, and notes tagged to specific locations. This update offers users the ability to customize who can see their location, with options to disable sharing in certain areas or turn it off completely.
For supervised teen accounts, parents will receive notifications when location sharing is enabled, adding an extra layer of safety. Location-tagged content shared on the Map remains visible for 24 hours and can be accessed through the Direct Messages inbox.
Addressing user privacy concerns, Instagram has added visible indicators to show clearly whether location sharing is active or off. Profile photos no longer appear on tagged posts to avoid confusion about live location sharing. Additionally, users receive reminders when adding location tags and can preview how their posts will look on the Map before sharing.
This rollout in India, one of Instagram’s largest markets, aims to enhance local discovery, support small businesses, and help friends connect more meaningfully with stronger privacy and control over location sharing.
The feature is available now for both Android and iOS users, with a staged rollout expected to reach all users soon.