Instagramhas evolved significantly over the past decade. It began as a simple platform for uploading and sharing photos with friends and family, but now it offers many more features, including Stories, Instagram Reels, and live-streaming. To put it into perspective, when Instagram first launched,direct messaging(DMs) wasn’t even available yet – and now it’s one of the most used features on the app.
Now, Instagram is doing what it does best – copying anotherSnapchatfeature. The first time was with Stories in 2016, and now it’s targeting Snapchat’s other popular feature: Snap Map.
That’s right, Instagram has introduced its own maps feature calledInstagram Map. This allows you to share your location with all your friends or a select few. So, if you trust a certain group of friends or family members, you can choose to share your location only with them, rather than all your followers – just like Snap Map.
Instagram states that “sharing is off unless you opt in” for Instagram Maps. However, some userson Threadshave raised privacy concerns about their location being automatically turned on. In response, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said on Threads that “people are confused” about how Instagram Map works.
Meta mentioned in a statement (viaEngadget) that “Instagram Map is off by default, and your live location is never shared unless you choose to turn it on” and that “If you do, only people you follow back – or a private, custom list you select – can see your location.”
Despite these statements, it’s still best to double-check your settings, asmany users reportit being turned on automatically. Here’s how to view your location-sharing settings for Instagram Map and ensure they are set to your preference or turned off.
Instagram is a popular social media platform for connecting with friends and sharing photos.
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How to turn off your location for Instagram Map
Instagram provides a few different location-sharing options
If you want to ensure your location is turned off for Instagram Map, the process is relatively straightforward, thankfully.
The first time you open Instagram Map, you should be greeted with a pop-up labeled “Who can see your location” offering four location-sharing options:Friends,Close Friends,Only these friends, orNo One(as shown in the image above).
Friends will share your location with followers you follow back. Close Friends will only share your location with all the people you’ve selected as Close Friends on Instagram, and Only these friends will let you choose exactly the people you want to share it with.
If you’re like me and didn’t get this pop-up the first time you opened Instagram Map, then you’ll need to head over to the settings menu to find it and turn it off if you wish. Just follow these steps:
1. Go to your profile page on Instagram.
Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right to open settings.
Scroll down and selectStory, live and location.
4. SelectLocation sharing.
5. Choose your preferred location-sharing setting.
- SelectingNo onewill prevent your location from being shared at all.
Even if you disable location sharing, you can still access the Instagram Map; your friends just won’t see your location on it. If you enable location sharing, Instagram updates your location only when the app is open or running in the background. You can also opt out of sharing your location at certain places or when you’re with specific people. Unlike Snap Map, which offers real-time location updates or updates only when the app is active, Instagram Map does not have real-time tracking. However, real-time location sharing is available throughInstagram DMs.
This actually isn’t the first time Instagram has had a map feature either. Back in 2016, Instagram removed its uniquePhoto Mapsfeature, claiming at the time it “was not widely used.” Photo Maps allowed you to view a map of the world and see where all your photos were taken, provided you had added a location when uploading your photo. You could also look at a Photo Map for any of your followers by tapping the location icon on their profile page. It’s wild to think Photo Maps has already been gone for nearly a decade.
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