Instagram rolls out reposts, location map and friends tab to boost social sharing and safety

The new features equip creators to reach even more people and “easily start conversations” around shared interests.

Instagram has launched several new features aimed at enhancing user interaction and safety.

In its August 6 announcement, Meta confirmed the rollout of reposting tools, a location-sharing map, and a new "Friends" tab in Reels.

Reposting now allows users to share public feed posts and reels with their followers. These reposts will appear in a dedicated tab on user profiles and are always credited to the original creator. 

The location map, launching in the US, lets users share their last active location with selected accounts. The feature can be disabled at any time and supports content discovery from venues such as concerts or restaurants. Parents with supervision settings will also receive alerts when teens activate this option.

The new Friends tab in Instagram Reels highlights public content that friends have liked or commented on, or shows content suggested by Blend recommendations. Users can hide their activity or mute visibility from selected accounts. Meta explained that this feature is designed to help users “easily start conversations” around shared interests.

These updates follow recent safety enhancements, including direct messaging controls for teen users introduced on 23 July, and child-safety tools for adult-run accounts.