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WhatsApp has offered the feature for years and now Instagram users can also make use of it in their DMs
WhatsApp users have had this feature for sometime now
Instagram is offering a new but popular feature called Location Sharing. As you have seen with WhatsApp, the tool allows users to share their live location with their friends and family directly via Direct Messages.
According to the company’s blog post, the functionality intends to make it easier for consumers to set up hangouts right from their Instagram conversations. “Spend more time together, and less time coordinating,” the post says.
The social media platform was spotted testing a way for users to see their friends’ live locations earlier this year. Meta’s other social media app WhatsApp introduced a similar feature a long time back.
But the feature on Instagram comes with a catch. It only allows users to share their location with others for up to an hour. However, WhatsApp allows the user to share live locations for up to eight hours, and it is expected that Instagram might also increase the time limit in the future.
According to Instagram, the tool can be used to organise arrival schedules and find friends in congested areas.
Users can share their location with a single person or in a group chat in DMs. Once they share their location, only the members of the group would be able to see their location, also it couldn’t be forwarded to any other chats. The users will also see an indicator at the top of the chat reminding them that they are presently sharing your live location.
The update will be available in select countries for the near future. In addition to the location-sharing feature, Instagram has also introduced new sticker packs for DMs and custom nicknames for people in group chats, making your conversations even more interesting. According to the company, the feature can be used to convey an inside joke or just to shorten long usernames.