Latest news with #InstagramMap
See - Sada Elbalad
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Instagram Launches ‘Map' Feature
Israa Farhan Instagram has rolled out a new feature called 'Instagram Map,' enabling users to share their latest activity locations with friends and discover location-based content. The Meta-owned platform is also introducing post re-sharing and a new 'Friends' tab on its short-form video service, Reels, available globally. The 'Map' update closely mirrors a popular feature on rival Snapchat, following Instagram's earlier adoption of the Stories format from Snapchat in 2016. With more than 400 million monthly active users, Instagram surpasses Snapchat's Snap Map in reach, making the new feature one of its most prominent additions in recent years. According to Instagram, location sharing on Instagram Map is switched off by default. Users' location data will only update when the app is opened, meaning it does not provide live location tracking. By contrast, Snap Map allows users to choose between updating their location only when using the app or sharing it in real time. Instagram says the new tool will make it easier for friends to coordinate meet-ups and for users to explore content linked to places shared by friends and favorite creators. For example, if a friend attends a nearby music festival and posts a Story, it will appear on the map. Similarly, if a creator uploads a short video about a new restaurant, its location will be tagged on Instagram Map. Regardless of whether a user shares their own location, the map can still be used to explore geographically tagged content. The feature also allows users to leave short 'notes' on the map for others to see. read more UAE's Lunar Mission Delayed to Tomorrow Twitter Lifts Trump's Account Ban Scientists Find Evidence Of 10،000 Black Holes Surrounding The Center Of The Milky Way Galaxy Greenhouse In Antarctica Able To Grow Vegetables Without Soil Or Sunlight Moving Over China: U.S. Is Again Home to World's Speediest Supercomputer Technology The 10 most expensive cars in the world Technology Top 10 fastest cars in the world Technology Lasers Could Make Computers 1 Million Times Faster Technology Smart technology taking control of our lives News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date Videos & Features Story behind Trending Jessica Radcliffe Death Video News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Arts & Culture Lebanese Media: Fayrouz Collapses after Death of Ziad Rahbani
Observer
14 hours ago
- Observer
What to know about Instagram Map, a new feature drawing backlash
A new Instagram feature rolled out in the United States this past week stirred strong feelings: Users can now share and view locations of others on a map. Meta, which owns Instagram, said in a blog post Wednesday that the feature was an opt-in service to help people 'stay up to date with friends.' Some users, however, reacted with confusion and panic, voicing concerns about privacy and safety. Here's what to know about the feature. What is Instagram Map? The new map, which can be found on top of Instagram's message inbox, allows users to share their live location while they are using the app. It also allows people to see the locations of users who share that information in recent posts on their feeds. Who can see you on it? By default, nobody. Meta said in its blog post that the location sharing option was inactive by default, and users would have to opt in. The company said people could limit who could see that information, or turn it off entirely. Meta called it a 'new, lightweight way to connect with each other.' Similar features exist in other apps: Snapchat has a personalized map feature, and Apple devices allow users to share their locations with one another. Meta's other platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp also offer live location sharing. How did people react? Broadly, not well. The news quickly raised questions about the possible dangers of location sharing on one of the world's most popular social media platforms. As the feature reached smartphones in the United States, it caused confusion, and even panic, for some users. Many people, including professional content creators, called for it to be rolled back, arguing that it could be used to stalk and harass. U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote to Meta on Friday, according to NBC News, urging its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to abandon the feature. Why did people see themselves on the map unexpectedly? Some users said that they were unhappy to see their prior posts plotted on the map without using the location-sharing feature. One explanation, offered by Instagram's leader, Adam Mosseri, is that the map was populated not only with real-time locations but also with earlier posts tagged with a location. Those location tags existed before, but were not collated on a prominent map. Allie Taylor, an educator who posts content about disability on Instagram, was at work Wednesday when they shared a video on the app with a location tag for the city of Cincinnati. Soon, Taylor began receiving messages from their followers, including strangers, saying that their location was visible on Instagram's new map. It appeared accurate enough to show the street they worked on, Taylor said. 'It was terrifying,' Taylor said, adding, 'Why was this even a feature?' How do you turn it off? To check location sharing permissions for Instagram, users can try several options. In the app itself, users can head to their messages inbox, open the map, view the settings, and change location sharing to 'no one.' Phone users can also go directly into the location services tab in the device's settings and choose to allow or deny it for Instagram. Instagram has promised 'improvements.' Mosseri appeared taken aback by how the feature was received and made a series of posts seeking to answer the criticism. 'We're never going to share your location without someone actively asking to do so,' he said in one post on Friday. He conceded that there had been 'confusion' around the rollout. A statement from Meta, sent Saturday, said, 'Instagram Map is off by default, and your live location is never shared unless you choose to turn it on. 'If you do, only people you follow back — or a private, custom list you select — can see your location.' Mosseri, in his posts, said Instagram needed to do a 'better job' of explaining what would appear on the map. 'We can, and will, make it easier to understand exactly what's happening,' he said, adding that Instagram was hoping to make improvements early next week. This article originally appeared in
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
How do you turn off Instagram's new location-sharing feature? It's not available in Australia yet
Instagram has a new feature called the Instagram Map that allows users to share their location with followers, and critics have been vocal about it. Major US news outlets are reporting on fears that the feature is a safety concern, with some users claiming their location had been shared without their knowledge. It's unclear when the feature will be rolled out here, but that hasn't stopped Australians wondering about it. Here's what we know about the feature. Is the Instagram Map in Australia? No. Meta — the company that owns Instagram, along with Facebook and WhatsApp — announced it was launching the feature in the US on August 6. "Instagram Map was rolled out in the US and a number of other countries," a Meta spokesperson said. "We don't have a timeline for rolling it out in Australia." Meta says people will have to opt into the feature and can choose who sees their location. ( Supplied: Meta ) Meta says it's opt-in only According to Meta, the feature shouldn't be automatically activated on your account. "To start, location sharing is completely off," Meta's head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, said in a post on his personal Instagram account. "Your location will only be shared if you decide to share it, and if you do, it can only be shared with a limited group of people you choose." The company says people can choose whether to share their location with followers they follow back or selected users. "You can change your audience selection any time in the settings," Meta's spokesperson told the ABC. "You must be friends with someone (followers you follow back) in order to share or request location sharing. "There is no option to share it more widely than that." But some people say they didn't opt in Despite this, some users say their locations have been shared without their knowledge. This includes people in the comments section on Mr Mosseri's Instagram post about the new feature. Here are some comments from people the ABC has contacted in an attempt to verify their claims: "Please change the maps feature. It was automatically sharing my location before I knew." "But the map is NOT an opt in! I don't even have the feature on my account and I was auto shown to everyone without my consent!!" "I cant opt out. My location is shared against my will, I haven't consented to it and my location is turned off so WHY AM I STILL SHOWING UP?????" As of Sunday afternoon, we've not heard back from those users. The comments feature has been disabled on Mr Mosseri's post. Meta says users confused tagging with sharing We contacted Meta asking if it was aware of claims that people's locations were shared without their knowledge. "We have investigated reports and found no underlying issues," a spokesperson said. "There are some issues with content with location tagging being confused for location sharing." But initial concerns about the feature created a ripple effect on social media. Some social media account holders have been posting videos warning their followers about the feature, with major US-based outlets featuring stories about how to turn location settings off. And that sentiment is spreading to Australia. In the days since the feature was announced, we've seen questions like "how to turn off Instagram location sharing" trending on internet searches among Australians. How to check if you have Instagram Map The feature isn't available in Australia, so you probably won't have the feature yet. If users have the feature on their apps, it'll appear with an icon of the Earth at the top of their Instagram inbox, Meta's statement said. There should be a gear icon on the top right corner of the map, which should show a symbol to indicate a user's location sharing status Here's what they mean: A blue arrow: You're sharing your location with your selected audience You're sharing your location with your selected audience A red dot: You're not sharing your location You're not sharing your location An orange triangle: You need to enable location permissions on your device to share your location How to turn off Instagram location sharing Meta says location sharing on the Instagram Map feature — which isn't available in Australia — is turned off unless users opt in. However, you can check whether you've given Instagram access to your location services. Here's how to check your location sharing settings for Instagram depending on what phone you have: Go to Settings — the grey icon with gears. Scroll down to Privacy and security — a blue icon with a hand — then tap Location services. This should take you to a list of apps, so scroll down to select Instagram. From here, you can select whether you want to allow the app access to your location by selecting one of the following options: Never Never Ask next time or when I share Ask next time or when I share While using the app While using the app Always A tick should appear next to the option you've selected. You can also turn off a setting called "precise location", which should mean that apps can only determine your "approximate location", Apple says. Android Go to your phone's home screen, touch, and then hold the icon for your Instagram app. Now tap the App info option. Select Permissions Select Location From here, you'll be able to select one of the following options: Allow all the time Allow only while using the app Ask every time Don't allow If you've allowed the app access, you can make its location settings a little vaguer by turning off the Use precise location setting. If you have the feature on your app and you want to turn it off, go into Map and look for the settings option at the top right of the screen — it should be a gear icon. From there, a menu should pop up giving you a list of options of who to share with. If you want to turn off the feature, select the 'No one' option. Mr Mosseri says users can choose who they want to see their location. ( Instagram: Adam Mosseri ) There's an option to 'hide' Meta says people will be given the option to choose up to three locations to hide from their followers. "You have the option to automatically turn off location sharing when you're in certain places," the company says. "When you are inside a hidden place, no one will see you on the map." Users can access this by selecting Settings, going to Options, and tapping Hide places. Meta says people can decide how large of an area they want this option to apply to. "You can also hide your location from certain accounts," the company says. Users can access this by selecting Settings, going to Options, and tapping Hide from. This should allow users to create a list of people they don't want to see their locations.
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Instagram Map stirs debate on location-sharing and privacy among Gen Z
Location apps often get installed because of parents' safety concerns. As those teenagers who often grumbled about being surveilled by their parents grew up and moved out, they began using Find My or Life360 to check on their friends in potentially risky situations. Laura Kelly, a 23-year-old who works as a prison re-entry case manager in Boston, shares her location with her friends in case of a potential emergency, such as when someone goes missing from a large group or if they're Ubering home after drinking too much. Over time, she's amassed 45 people on her Find My account. 'There's been times where one of my friends got way too drunk and was a wanderer, so we were like, 'Oh, just checked her location and tracked her down,'' Kelly said. 'I found her on a stump and I was like, 'Thank God.' It reminded me why I do it.' As Gen Z's parents and grandparents get older, the roles have reversed, with their children now keeping tabs on them. It's helpful for the same reasons that tracking friends can be, whether that's figuring out if someone is running late or going somewhere unexpected. For Kelly, looking at Find My is useful to see if her parents are busy. 'Whenever I call them, I'll check beforehand to see if they're home because I feel like they're more likely to answer,' she said. 'If they don't answer my call, I'll look and be like, 'Well, what are they doing if they're not talking to me?'' For many, tracking a friend's location is just an extension of stalking someone's social media. You don't have to ask to know what swank new restaurant your friends are trying, where they're seeing a concert that night or if they're hanging out with your other friends that you have on Find My. The Instagram Map correctly assessed people's desire to see what their friends are doing in real time, while adding an additional layer of public posts about any given spot. And yet nearly everyone the Washington Post spoke to is uncertain about the point of Instagram Map. Some said it feels like an inevitable end point for a deeply surveilled, voyeuristic culture. Nearly every day, Rachel Suleymanov checks in on her friends' locations. She described the Find My map as a form of social media, even without the input of Instagram. As a 24-year-old Manhattanite whose friends live in Brooklyn, she's gotten used to seeing hangouts that she can't make it to on the Find My app. To trade locations with the current 25 friends she tracks, Suleymanov said, 'was almost like saying 'I love you' in a relationship'. But Instagram Map is a step too far, she said. 'I just think about the amount of people that are following me that I barely know,' Suleymanov said. 'I feel like the point of Instagram is that I can post about where I am, should I want to do that. I don't know if a Snapchat map equivalent is necessary in any way.' Location sharing goes hand in hand with Gen Z's quest to be authentic online, Jessica Maddox, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia, said. But, she argues, many don't necessarily trust Instagram parent company Meta. 'They've been on social media long enough, and have been wronged by social media enough, that they are right to be suspicious of this Instagram feature,' Maddox said. 'I think back to earlier this year, when TikTok was going to be banned, right? [Young] people literally joined a Chinese app instead of going to Instagram.' Gladden uses Find My to check in with friends who don't use social media as regularly. But she isn't sure those more private friends would appreciate her snooping: 'If I check their location, I can never say anything about it because they might unshare it.' The fear of an unshared location is real for Find My obsessives, especially because they get a notification if a friend drops them. For Caty DuDevoir, a graduate student of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, unsharing a location usually results in tension in the friendship. 'When you unshare your location with someone, it feels wrong,' DuDevoir, 23, said. 'It feels like a hiccup in a relationship, in a friendship. Are you hiding something? What does this mean for our friendship? That is sort of weird because it's just not that deep. We're on a floating rock. If someone wants to stop sharing their location, I don't think it's a big deal. And yes, it sometimes feels hurtful.' While there are safety and social benefits to tracking friends, it gets tricky if you catch them in an ill-advised situation. Surprising hook-ups, hanging out with disliked friends and embarrassing hobbies are all noticeable if someone has your location. 'We found out that [a friend] was back with her ex-boyfriend via the Find My Friends thing,' Montse Cuetos, 23, who recently graduated from IE University in Spain, said. 'I was scrolling through and I was like, 'What? You didn't tell us that was happening.'' It varies from person to person, but Find My users often find themselves unsure of what to do if they spot a situation unfolding from a map's-eye view. Confronting a friend about something seen on the map would be a violation of privacy for DuDevoir, even if the location was shared freely. 'I just wait for that person to tell me the story that goes behind why they were in a certain place,' she said. 'If they don't feel comfortable, it's not something that I'm going to push them on.' That balance becomes a problem, especially as Instagram and Snapchat have made people's locations so readily available. Besides, isn't there something magical about naturally running into a friend at the coffee shop? Cuetos thinks so, despite her collection of 21 friends on Find My. 'Having unrestricted access to so much information about your social environment is kind of messed up,' Cuetos said. 'It's like if you had super powers, would you want to read minds? No, it would ruin everybody for you.'
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
What to Know About Instagram Map, a New Feature Drawing Backlash
A new Instagram feature rolled out in the United States this week stirred strong feelings: Users can now share and view locations of others on a map. Meta, which owns Instagram, said in a blog post on Wednesday that the feature was an opt-in service to help people 'stay up to date with friends.' Some users, however, reacted with confusion and panic, voicing concerns about privacy and safety. Here's what to know about the feature. What is Instagram Map? The new map, which can be found on top of Instagram's message inbox, allows users to share their live location while they are using the app. It also allows people to see the locations of users who share that information in recent posts on their feeds. Who can see you on it? By default, nobody. Meta said in its blog post that the location sharing option was inactive by default, and users would have to opt in. The company said people could limit who could see that information, or turn it off entirely. Meta called it a 'new, lightweight way to connect with each other.' Similar features exist in other apps: Snapchat has a personalized map feature, and Apple devices allow users to share their locations with one another. Meta's other platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp also offer live location sharing. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
