Instagram has announced the launch of its new ‘Instagram Map’ feature, now available across the Arabian Gulf States including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. This innovative feature allows users to share their last active location with selected friends and discover posts tagged to various locations such as restaurants, events, and popular hangouts. Designed to foster closer social connections and enhance content discovery, the feature supports the growing demand for interactive and location-based social experiences in the region.
About Instagram Map
The Instagram Map feature enables users to see where their friends have recently shared content, by displaying locations associated with their posts. Importantly, this is not a live location tracker but a way to view activity connected to specific places. Users need to opt-in to share their location and can control who sees this information. Instagram has built privacy protections into the feature, including settings to manage who can view your location and the ability to turn sharing off entirely.
Availability in the Arabian Gulf
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has confirmed that the Instagram Map is rolling out globally and is fully accessible in the Arabian Gulf States. This rollout reflects Meta’s commitment to expanding innovative features that connect users in key markets across the Middle East.
Privacy and User Control
While the Instagram Map offers exciting ways to connect, Instagram emphasizes that privacy remains a top priority. Location sharing is disabled by default and users must actively choose to participate. Furthermore, individuals can limit sharing to select friends or groups and can deactivate location sharing at any time. These controls ensure users maintain full authority over their personal information.
How to Use Instagram Map
To use the Instagram Map, users can open their Direct Messages on Instagram and tap the Map icon at the top of the screen. From there, they can explore location-based posts and adjust their sharing preferences as desired.
Instagram is dedicated to enhancing social connections in the Arabian Gulf while prioritizing user privacy. For more details about Instagram Map, please reach out using the contact information above