Meta has launched three new Instagram features aimed at enhancing user connections: reposts, location sharing via an interactive map, and a Friends tab in Reels. These additions represent Instagram’s latest effort to strengthen social engagement on the platform.

The Repost Functionality

The new repost feature allows users to share public reels and feed posts directly to their followers’ feeds. Similar to X’s retweet and TikTok’s repost functions, this feature collects shared content in a dedicated tab on users’ profiles.

“Reposts are credited to the original poster,” Meta notes in its announcement. “If you’re a creator, this means that if your content is reposted by someone else, it may be recommended to that person’s followers, even if those people don’t follow you.”

Users can add personal notes to reposts by typing in a thought bubble that appears on screen. The feature departs from Instagram’s previous approach, where sharing others’ content was primarily done through temporary Stories.

Location Sharing Capabilities

The Instagram Map feature, accessible from the top of users’ DM inboxes, allows opt-in location sharing with selected friends. The feature resembles Snapchat’s Snap Map, which currently has over 400 million monthly active users.

Location sharing on Instagram Map comes with several privacy controls:

• Users choose who they share their location with: friends (followers they follow back), Close Friends, selected friends, or no one
• Specific places or people can be excluded from location sharing
• Location updates only when users open the app or return to it after running in the background
• Sharing can be disabled at any time

Unlike Snap Map’s real-time location option, Instagram’s map only updates when users open the app. The feature has been in development since at least February 2024, when it was spotted by reverse app engineer Alessandro Paluzzi under the name “Friend Map.”

For parents with supervision set up for teens, Instagram provides additional controls, including notifications when teens begin sharing their location.

Beyond location sharing, the map displays location-tagged content such as reels, posts, stories, and notes from followed accounts for 24 hours after posting. This functionality partly revives Instagram’s earlier map feature, which was introduced in 2012 and discontinued in 2016 due to low usage.

The Instagram Map is launching first in the United States, with global availability planned soon.

The Friends Tab

The Friends tab in Reels, now rolling out globally after earlier testing in the U.S., displays public content that friends have interacted with. Users can see reels their connections have liked, commented on, reposted, or created.

“Friends will help you see which reels the people you care about most are creating and engaging with,” Meta states.

The tab resembles Instagram’s discontinued “activity” feature that previously showed friends’ interactions. Responding to privacy concerns raised during U.S. testing in January, Meta has added controls allowing users to hide their likes and comments on Reels and mute activity updates from specific followed accounts.

These features represent Instagram’s ongoing adaptation, following its history of integrating functionality similar to competitors. Previous examples include Stories (inspired by Snapchat) and Reels (similar to TikTok).

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