Menlo Park, CA — Instagram has unveiled two major features—Repost and Map—aimed at making sharing and location-based interaction easier for users, while also sparking debate over privacy and originality.
The Repost tool allows users to share public Reels and feed posts from other accounts directly to their followers, adding their own captions or notes. Reposted content appears in the user’s followers’ feeds and in a dedicated tab on their profile, giving credit to the original creator.
“Reposts are designed to help people share the moments, ideas, and creativity that inspire them—while giving creators greater visibility,” Meta said in a statement.
The second feature, Instagram Map, lets users share their last active location with selected friends. The setting is opt-in and can be customized to share with all followers, close friends, or a chosen list. Location updates are only registered while the app is open, and users can block specific people or locations from viewing their activity.
The map also allows users to explore location-tagged content nearby, such as Reels or Stories posted in the last 24 hours. Instagram has included parental controls for teen accounts to manage location sharing.
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While the updates have been welcomed by some as a way to strengthen real-world connections, critics say the features resemble tools already offered by competitors.
The Repost function draws comparisons to X’s retweet, and the Map feature mirrors Snapchat’s Snap Map.
Despite criticism, Meta maintains that the features are part of its strategy to make Instagram “a more connected and discovery-driven platform” for both casual users and creators.
The update is rolling out globally over the coming weeks on both iOS and Android.