Instagram is working on an optional “Friend Map” feature that would allow users to view their friends’ real-time locations, a Meta spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. This feature, similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map, is currently an internal prototype and not being tested externally. Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi was the first to spot this feature, as he often uncovers social media features in development before they are officially launched.
If Instagram proceeds with launching the Friend Map, it would be following Snapchat’s footsteps once again, after replicating the app’s core Stories feature in 2016. This move would also put Instagram in competition with Apple’s “Find My” map feature, which allows users to track their friends and family locations. By introducing this new feature, Instagram aims to increase user engagement on its platform and reduce reliance on other services. Moreover, Instagram has a chance to attract users who were fans of Zenly, a social map app that was acquired by Snap and subsequently shut down last year.
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Based on screenshots shared by Paluzzi on Threads, Instagram’s Friend Map would allow users to control who can view their location. The screenshots also suggest that location data will be encrypted end-to-end. Users can choose to share their location with followers who are also following them, their “Close Friends” list, or no one at all. The map will include a “Ghost Mode” option to conceal your last active location.
Users would have the ability to leave brief messages, or “Notes,” on the map for others to see if the Friend Map is launched. Currently, Instagram Notes are short messages displayed at the top of your direct messaging feed, but with the Friend Map, users could post these updates on the map. This feature could be utilized to inform friends about interesting discoveries like a pop-up shop or a new restaurant you’re currently dining at.
This news arrives as Instagram continues to enhance its in-app map functionality. Towards the end of 2022, the platform introduced a searchable map experience, enabling users to explore popular tagged locations nearby and filter results by categories like restaurants, cafes, and beauty salons. The introduction of the searchable map came shortly after Google’s Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan noted that younger users were turning to apps such as Instagram and TikTok instead of Google Search or Maps for discovering new places.
After encroaching on one of Google’s key domains, Instagram now seems poised to challenge Snapchat and Apple with its Friend Map feature.
