Instagram Updates Include Reposts Feed and Snap Maps-Inspired Feature

Instagram Introduces Competitor-Inspired Updates While Refining Controversial Feature

The platform is rolling out multiple innovations that borrow from rival services while enhancing a polarizing feature introduced earlier in 2024.

New Ways to Share Content

Users now gain enhanced sharing capabilities, allowing reposts of public Reels and standard feed posts across accounts. Mirroring TikTok's functionality, these shared items will appear in a dedicated profile section and be distributed to follower feeds. This represents a significant evolution from the current Stories-based sharing model, effectively introducing a native reblogging system to Instagram's core experience.

Location Features Borrowed from Snapchat

In its latest competitive move, Instagram is integrating an optional location mapping system within private messaging. This feature displays recently active locations of consenting connections while aggregating geotagged content from event hotspots like music festivals. While conceptually similar to Snap Map, the implementation carries distinct Instagram design elements.

Refined Content Interaction Visibility

The platform is also addressing user feedback regarding its Reels interaction tracking feature - a controversial addition that previously resembled Instagram's discontinued activity feed. Following complaints about involuntary sharing of engagement data, the global rollout now includes enhanced privacy controls. Users can now hide their Reels likes and reposts while muting others' activity notifications.

Platform Evolution and Creator Concerns

These updates continue Instagram's gradual transformation from its original photo-sharing purpose towards a TikTok-competitive video platform. The increasing emphasis on algorithmic content recommendations over organic connections has created visibility challenges for creators and reshaped user experience priorities. While location features may appeal to some demographics, many established creators express frustration with the platform's shifting focus away from the community-building tools that originally fostered their audiences.