Instagram has started rolling out its Map feature in India, allowing users to share their last active location with friends and explore location-tagged content. The update follows its global introduction in August and arrives with several improvements to clarity and user experience.
Instagram Map: Location sharing and discovery
The new Instagram Map lets users opt in to share their last active location with chosen friends or groups.
- Sharing preferences can be customized — users can select specific people, disable sharing in certain areas, or turn it off entirely.
- For supervised teen accounts, parents receive a notification when location sharing is enabled and can manage related permissions.
In addition to location sharing, users can explore Reels, Stories, Notes, and Posts tagged with locations by friends and creators. Content shared on the Map remains visible for 24 hours and can be accessed through the DM inbox icon.
Key improvements since the global rollout
With the India launch, Instagram has introduced several refinements to make location sharing clearer and reduce confusion:
- A persistent indicator appears at the top of the map, showing whether location sharing is active or turned off on the device.
- A secondary indicator under the profile photo in the Notes tray clarifies when the user is not sharing location.
- Profile photos have been removed from appearing over tagged content to avoid the assumption that it represents someone’s live location.
- Users now see an educational reminder explaining that adding a location tag to a story, reel, or post places it on the Map.
- A preview option shows how tagged content will appear on the Map before publishing, improving transparency.
Availability
Instagram confirmed that the Map feature begins rolling out in India today, expanding access to users nationwide.
Announcing the rollout, Instagram said,
No matter how you use the map, you and your friends have a new, lightweight way to connect with each other.