August 8, 2025
Instagram’s newest set of features has users more concerned than excited.
Instagram’s latest feature rollout is under fire from users, raising concerns about the new map feature, which they say is a “safety issue.”
On Aug. 6, Meta unveiled three new features aimed at better connecting Instagram users with their close friends and followers. Now, through new features like reposts, the map, and the “Friends” tab in Reels, users can share their location and what they’re up to in new ways.
With reposts, users can repost public reels and feed posts to better share their interests with their followers. Friends is a new feature within the Reels tab that allows you to see public content your friends have interacted with, as well as content suggestions that you can start conversations about with your friends.
Although the other new features have sparked mixed reactions, it’s the map feature that’s causing the most concern. Similar to Snapchat, Instagram’s map lets users share their last active location with selected friends and can be turned off at any time. However, when the update went live, many users found their locations were automatically shared with followers, sparking a flood of worried messages on X.
”Does Instagram not realize how big of a safety issue that is?” one user tweeted.
”Ummm why did I wake up today to see @Instagram sharing my EXACT location, to over 139,000+ people?” asked someone else. “If we could NOT share my home address to the world without my knowledge, that would be cool!?”
Upon debuting the new features, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared a video explaining the app’s intent “to be not just a lean-back experience that is fun and entertaining, but also a participatory one.” He outlined each new feature and how it works to better connect and engage friends.
While some expressed their approval, many others shared their concerns in Mosseri’s comment section.
”That friend map feels a lot like horror stories waiting to happen, like with the map in Snapchat in the hands of kids who are not aware of how dangerous this can be,” one user wrote.
”Can you opt out of having reels you’ve ‘liked’ show up in the Friends Reels tab? I ‘like’ plenty of posts that I wouldn’t CHOOSE to recommend to friends,” added someone else.
Consumers often need time to adjust to changes in products or services they’re familiar with. Only time will tell if Instagram’s latest rollout will win over the public, but for now, users seem worried and hesitant about the platform’s new direction.
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