Like WhatsApp, Instagram launches live location sharing

Instagram is rolling out a live location feature similar to WhatsApp that will be active for one hour and can be shared through direct messages (DMs) so that people can find each other when they are meeting up in public.

While WhatsApp supports sharing live locations for up to eight hours, the limit for Instagram’s own live location sharing feature is just one hour. Instagram warned users to only share their live locations with people whom they trust.

“Live location can only be shared privately in DMs, either in a 1:1 or group chat, will expire after 1 hour, and is off by default. When sharing, only those in the specific chat can see your location and your location can’t be forwarded to other chats. You’ll also see an indicator at the top of your chat to ensure you don’t forget that you’re sharing your live location,” said Instagram in a blog post on November 25.

The live location sharing feature is available only in some countries, according to Meta.

Apart from this update, Instagram announced that there were 17 new sticker packs with over 300 stickers to share in DMs. Users will also be able to customise names across Instagram DMs to identify friends and loved ones by their nicknames.

Published - November 26, 2024 12:28 pm IST