By Julie Clover
Instagram today announced several updates to direct messages on its platform, including location sharing, nicknames, new sticker sets, and more.
Instagram now has the ability to share a real-time location with a friend for up to an hour, which can be used to find friends when they meet in real life. There’s also the option to pin the location on a map to coordinate meetups.
Instagram says that locations can only be shared in direct messages, either in a chat with one person or in a group chat. All real-time locations disappear after an hour, and the feature is turned off by default. Only people in the chat can see your location, and location information can’t be forwarded to other chats. Instagram’s blog post says users should be “mindful” of their privacy and only share their location with real-life friends.
Instagram direct messages can be customized with nicknames that appear in DM chats. Users can set nicknames for themselves or their friends, simplifying long usernames to make them easier to recognize. Nicknames can be created by tapping the chat name at the top of the conversation, then tapping Nicknames and the person’s username.
Along with location sharing and nicknames, Instagram has also added 17 sticker packs with 300 new stickers that can be used in DMs. There’s a new option to favorite a sticker and a new DM sticker tray.
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