Instagram has rolled out a new feature that lets you share your live location with friends on a map. This is different from simply tagging a location on a post or Story. The new feature shows your real-time location and is now available to US users, with a global release planned soon.
To start sharing your location, you’ll need to enable location services within the app. Instagram says the feature will share your last active location with friends.
- Open your Instagram DM inbox.
- Tap on the “Map” icon (it looks like a world map).
- Tap the Settings icon. You’ll be asked to “Turn on Location Services.”
- Select “Open settings” to go to your phone’s Settings app.
- From there, tap “Location” and choose one of the options: “Ask Next Time Or When I Share,” “While Using the App,” or “Always.”
Once you enable this, your location will update whenever you open the app or use it in the background.
Meta designed the feature as a lightweight way to connect and emphasizes that location sharing is off by default unless you choose to turn it on.
However, some users have raised safety concerns. It’s important to be mindful of who you share your location with and when you share it, as the feature broadcasts your real-time whereabouts.
If you change your mind, you can turn off location sharing at any time.
- Navigate back to the Instagram map in your DM inbox.
- Open the Settings icon within the map view.
- Tap “Open Settings” to be redirected to your phone’s Settings app.
- In your phone’s settings, choose “Never” to stop sharing your location with Instagram.