Instagram Brings In New Features: Introduces Nicknames and Live Location Sharing in DMs

Instagram is introducing new features for its users one of which allows them to share their real-time location with their friends through Direct Messages (DM) for a duration of one hour making it easier for them to meet up or plan an outing. This feature is not the only one added by Instagram, there are other updates as well such as users can now use nicknames for their friends and there are new sticker packs available as well. 

According to Instagram, users can now privately and temporarily share their location in DMs whether in group chats or in individual messages and this option comes disabled by default. It is similar to location-sharing capabilities which are found in Snapchat’s SnapMap but it does not have an overview which shows all the users who have shared their location at once. 

As of now, these new features are only available to users in some selected countries, although Instagram has not specified which ones. 

Additionally, the users can now create nicknames for themselves and their friends in direct messages that include group chats. If the users dislike the nickname given to them, they can restrict friends from editing the same. These nicknames are only visible within specific conversations so outsiders won’t be able to access them. 

There are also 17 new sticker packs now available for users including 300 stickers for chats which can be sent to friends. Users can also favourite stickers received in chats, reuse the saved ones and even create their own stickers using cutout features or make them with the help of AI. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri last week mentioned that users are engaging more with messages than with the create button, prompting the company to experience with new chat icon position that will place it bottom centre of the app.