Instagram is rolling out a fresh wave of features aimed at enhancing sharing and connection across the app — including a long-awaited repost function, a live location map, and an updated Reels interface.
Announced by parent company Meta on August 6, the update introduces three key tools: a dedicated tab for reposted content on user profiles, optional location sharing through an interactive map, and a new “Friends” tab in Reels designed to surface content engaged with by people you know.
Meta stated in a press release, “People come to Instagram to share what they’re doing and where they are. With reposts, the map, and the new ‘Friends’ tab in Reels, it’s now even easier to stay connected through the content you and your friends are enjoying.”
Reposts Bring Easier Sharing to Instagram
The new repost feature allows users to directly share public feed posts and Reels from other accounts with their followers. These reposts will appear in followers’ feeds and live in a separate “Reposts” tab on the sharer’s profile.
While original creators will still be credited, Meta notes that this tool gives creators a broader opportunity to reach new audiences.
Location Sharing with the Instagram Map
Launching initially in the U.S., the Instagram Map allows users to optionally share their most recent active location with select contacts. According to Meta, users can explore content by location — such as concert clips, restaurant photos, or travel moments — and can disable location sharing at any time.
Parents using Instagram’s supervision tools will receive alerts if their teen starts sharing their location and can manage who has access to it.
Meta added, “You can decide whether your teen has access to location sharing on the map and see who they’re sharing with.”
New “Friends” Tab Comes to Reels
A new “Friends” tab is also being introduced in Reels, showcasing a feed of public posts that a user’s friends have liked or commented on. It also includes Blends — personalized content groupings curated for users.
Users will have the option to hide their interactions from others’ Friends tabs and mute activity from specific people.
This update follows several safety-focused changes, such as stricter messaging limits for teens and enhanced content controls for accounts managed by adults with children.
In June, Instagram also launched a revamped summer profile option, allowing users to rearrange their grid posts and videos.
With these latest additions, Instagram aims to make social sharing more interactive, location-aware, and personalized — while continuing to strengthen its safety and privacy tools.
