Instagram has just rolled out support for its Live Location Sharing feature. The news was confirmed by its parent company Meta who says the feature is now integrated within DMs.
Thanks to the latest offering, users can benefit from sharing their real-time locations with contacts during chats. We agree it’s not a revolutionary feature in terms of how many other platforms introduced it a while back, but it’s great to see Instagram following the trend.
We already are well aware of how both WhatsApp and Messenger from Meta’s family of platforms already offered this feature for years. But we must note that Instagram’s feature only allows users to share the location for just an hour.
To share location during a chat, all users need to do is click on the + button found on the app’s right corner and select ‘choose location’. Similarly, users can also pin certain spots on maps to coordinate the arrival timings and activities or even locate pals inside crowded places such as concerts and major outdoor programs. You can even share live locations through private means in one-to-one chats or those seen on group chats.
When you share a location, the app will display indicators towards the top of a conversation as reminders to switch the location off if not needed any longer. It’s like a privacy check in place so that the location in a chat stays there and cannot be forwarded to others.
The company shared the news through a blog post where they claim the feature is up for grabs in a few countries right now. The news comes as Meta rolls out 17 new sticker packs for the app which again can be shared via DMs. meanwhile, another update speaks about how users can include nicknames for contacts that help recognize them quicker. To do that, simply top on the name of the user at the top and select nicknames.
Nicknames only pop up inside DM chats so others can see it but in other places, the username remains the same. Also, the app allows users to give permission to others if they want to add a nickname to the chat.
Read next: Google Could Soon Add New Play Store Feature That Warns Users About Low Quality Apps
Thanks to the latest offering, users can benefit from sharing their real-time locations with contacts during chats. We agree it’s not a revolutionary feature in terms of how many other platforms introduced it a while back, but it’s great to see Instagram following the trend.
We already are well aware of how both WhatsApp and Messenger from Meta’s family of platforms already offered this feature for years. But we must note that Instagram’s feature only allows users to share the location for just an hour.
To share location during a chat, all users need to do is click on the + button found on the app’s right corner and select ‘choose location’. Similarly, users can also pin certain spots on maps to coordinate the arrival timings and activities or even locate pals inside crowded places such as concerts and major outdoor programs. You can even share live locations through private means in one-to-one chats or those seen on group chats.
When you share a location, the app will display indicators towards the top of a conversation as reminders to switch the location off if not needed any longer. It’s like a privacy check in place so that the location in a chat stays there and cannot be forwarded to others.
The company shared the news through a blog post where they claim the feature is up for grabs in a few countries right now. The news comes as Meta rolls out 17 new sticker packs for the app which again can be shared via DMs. meanwhile, another update speaks about how users can include nicknames for contacts that help recognize them quicker. To do that, simply top on the name of the user at the top and select nicknames.
Nicknames only pop up inside DM chats so others can see it but in other places, the username remains the same. Also, the app allows users to give permission to others if they want to add a nickname to the chat.
Read next: Google Could Soon Add New Play Store Feature That Warns Users About Low Quality Apps
