Instagram’s latest update aims to make it easier for users to find local businesses or attractions by adding a searchable map that lets you “discover popular local businesses near you,” according to an Instagram story by Mark Zuckerberg. The map shows you a list of nearby places and shows you messages about a particular place or just certain types of businesses.
There are a few ways to get to the map: if someone tags a place in a post or story, you can tap the tag and click “view location” to go to the location’s page. As you move around the map, you can search the area to see what’s nearby.
You can also search for places (including entire cities) on the Explore tab. Tapping a search result for a place will take you to it on the map.
After you search an area, you can use filters to narrow the search results so that you only see restaurants, bars, parks, or other types of places. You can also save locations if you want to view them later. (You can access saved places by going to your profile, tapping the hamburger menu in the top right corner, and tapping Stored.)
The company began testing the updated map in select countries last year, but it is now generally available, according to Zuckerberg’s Story on Tuesday.
Instagram has been adding several ecommerce features to its app over the past few months, and the map feature feels like another step in making the platform more friendly to businesses, albeit physical ones. Given that Facebook already suggests certain types of businesses on its site pages and how many features Meta has shared between its platforms, it wouldn’t necessarily be surprising if we saw a similar map feature appear in other Meta apps in the near future.
