Meta keeps narrowing the gap between its two most popular apps, Instagram and WhatsApp, by porting features across the two. With the latest update, Instagram takes a page from WhatsApp by beginning to let users live location share for up to eight hours in DMs. This adds to how real-time users can connect: finding friends and family more easily when going to events or gatherings
Location Sharing Goes Live in Instagram DMs
Instagram introduces live location in DMs that can be shared for up to one hour. Similar to the feature available on WhatsApp, it allows users to share their real-time location with friends and family on either an individual or group chat. And it’s designed to be very privacy-conscious: by default, live location sharing is off, it expires after an hour, and it can’t be forwarded into other chats.
Especially useful in concert meetups, outings, or large gatherings. You can also drop a pin to let someone know where you’re waiting or give directions across a venue.
While WhatsApp allows you to share your live location for up to 8 hours, on Instagram, it’s going to keep that very short. A visible cue at the top of the chat will let users know when their locations are being shared, so they won’t forget about it and accidentally end up sharing longer than they mean to.
New Entrants: Stickers and Nicknames in DMs
Not bad enough, the location-sharing feature isn’t where Instagram stops. The app then redesigns its messaging and does so with 17 new sticker packs, adding more than 300 new stickers to chats. The stickers make conversations one heck of a lot more playful and personalized, which will help users express themselves more playfully. You can even star your favorite stickers that friends send or create stickers from your camera roll using the cutout feature for more lively chats.
Third, nicknames in DMs are coming with Instagram. This feature lets you assign personalized names to yourself or your friends inside a chat. For instance, you can nickname the very close friend “Bestie” or “Planner” if he is a member of the group. Nicknames appear only in DMs and don’t change usernames on profiles. What’s even more cool is that users have all controls while changing nicknames: one can decide who changes them and when.
Meta’s Vision: Stealing and Perfecting Features
It is expected that Meta is going to merge features across its different platforms: for quite some time, Instagram has been leading influencer to WhatsApp in features like Stories, disappearing messages, and status updates. Lately, the trend has flipped, and WhatsApp brought the ability on Instagram to tag contacts on status updates.
The cross-platform updates make it easy for users, especially those who use both apps. Instagram only strengthens its position as one of the versatile platforms in the realm of social interactions and real-time connections by borrowing the trusted live location feature of WhatsApp.
Conclusion
Live location in DMs and other exciting updates involving new stickers and customisable nicknames only bolster the ways in which users can interact on the platform. It closes the gap between social networking and real-time utility, making sure that Instagram remains well and truly relevant. Moving forward, with Instagram and WhatsApp’s continued growth under the Meta umbrella, users should expect an increasingly cohesive set of features that keep users close with creativity, personalization, and practical tools.
