Instagram's strategy of borrowing features that have been tested by other social media platforms seems to help the platform stay in the competition by adopting capabilities and functionalities that have proven to be successful elsewhere. Now, recent reports suggest that Meta is continuing its strategy for its photo and video-sharing app by experimenting with a new feature that mirrors Snap Maps, and it will not be the first time Instagram has copied a feature from Snapchat.
Instagram is working on a new feature that takes inspiration from Snapchat's Snap Maps
Instagram has gained massive popularity in recent times because of its ability to evolve the platform according to ongoing trends and user preferences. While many of the features brought forth on the social media platform seem to have been tested before by other platforms, the social media app tends to add its own twist when taking on the functionalities.
Now, Instagram is said to be working on a new feature called Friend Map that takes inspiration from Snapchat's Snap Maps. Snap Maps has been a popular capability among Snapchat users, who can share locations, appear on maps, and tweak their privacy settings as well.
As reported by Android Headlines, Meta's spokesperson, Christine Pai, stated that Meta has been testing the Friend Map feature on a limited group of people for now, so the tests are currently limited in scope. We have sparse information on the region and country it is being tested in. It was first mentioned in February that the feature was in the works, but no other details have been given so far.
While the Snap Map feature has existed since 2017, Instagram has added its own version to it. This version allows users to post text and video updates to a map that can be shared with friends and followers and takes privacy settings more seriously. While Snapchat allows public posts to Snap Maps, Instagram users would have to choose the specific group of people they want to share their location with for an added level of privacy. According to the spokesperson, the feature would be opt-in and built with "safety in mind."
Limited details are available on the feature currently and whether the social media platform would go all in by allowing public sharing in the future. Instagram did offer a feature that showed posts on a map a while ago, but that had even more privacy restrictions in place and no option to share. The feature was later discontinued amidst the lack of usage, and Instagram has now come up with a revamped version that is packed with sharing options and appeals to a broader user base.
Little has been shared regarding the longevity of the posts, as well. While the feature is still in development, we can anticipate the functionality's release will not be far off, given how reports regarding the testing are already making rounds.
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