Instagram has officially launched its Map feature in India, accompanied by a suite of privacy tools designed to enhance user control and clarity. This update, which began rolling out on October 6, 2025, allows users to share their last active location with selected friends or groups and explore location-tagged content, including posts, Reels, Stories, and Notes.

The Map feature, initially launched globally in August, has been refined with improvements to clarity and user experience for the Indian market. Users can opt-in to share their location with chosen friends, customize sharing preferences, disable sharing in specific areas, or turn it off entirely.

Key Features and Functionality

• Location Sharing: Users can share their last active location with selected friends or groups, providing a lightweight way to connect and coordinate.
• Content Discovery: The Map allows users to explore Reels, Stories, Notes, and Posts tagged with locations by friends and creators. This content remains visible for 24 hours and can be accessed through the DM inbox icon.
• Customizable Sharing: Users have full control over their location sharing preferences, including selecting specific people, disabling sharing in certain areas, or turning it off completely.
• Parental Controls: For supervised teen accounts, parents receive a notification when location sharing is enabled and can manage related permissions, promoting a safer online environment.

Privacy Enhancements and User Experience Improvements

Instagram has implemented several refinements to make location sharing clearer and reduce potential confusion:

• Persistent Indicator: A prominent 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 their location.
• Removal of Profile Photos: Profile photos have been removed from appearing over tagged content to avoid the assumption that it represents someone's live location.
• Educational Reminder: Users now see an educational reminder explaining that adding a location tag to a story, reel, or post places it on the Map.
• Preview Option: A preview option shows how tagged content will appear on the Map before publishing, improving transparency and control.

Teen Safety and Privacy

In addition to the Map feature enhancements, Instagram has introduced a range of safety features for teen users in India. These measures include automatically setting teen accounts to private, restricting contact from strangers, and imposing new limits for guardians. Key privacy updates for teen accounts include:

• Private by Default: All accounts created by users under 16 are now private by default, enabling them to view, tag posts, and share only with accepted followers.
• Messaging Restrictions: Teen users cannot be contacted through Direct Messages by strangers. Chats now include safety warnings displaying account information, such as creation date and location.
• One-Tap Block and Report: The ability to block and report malicious accounts has been simplified to one tap.
• Parental Approval: Going live or turning off "sensitive image message" filters requires parental approval.
• Screen Time and Sleep Mode: A new "Sleep Mode" silences notifications from 10 PM to 7 AM, and users receive notifications reminding them of usage limits.

Instagram's parental dashboard facilitates informed supervision, allowing parents to monitor chat participants, modify security restrictions, and track app usage. These features aim to strike a balance between privacy, safety, and parental oversight.