WITH INSTAGRAM, YOU CAN FIND NEARBY BUSINESSES MORE EASILY

Thu 21 July 2022:

With the addition of a searchable map, Instagram’s most recent update hopes to make it simpler for users to “discover popular local businesses near you”, according to a Story from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

According to The Verge, the map will display a list of nearby locations and allow you to view posts about specific locations or only see particular types of businesses.

Navigating to the map and searching it from a story sticker. (Courtesy Verge)

There are a few ways to get to the map — if someone tags a place in a post or story, users can tap on the tag and hit “see location” to get to the location’s page. If they move around on the map, they can search the area to see what’s nearby.

Navigating to the map and searching it from the Explore page. (Courtesy Verge)

Users can also search for places (including entire cities) in the Explore tab. Tapping on a place search result will take you to it on the map.

After users have searched an area, they can use filters to narrow down the search results, so you only see restaurants, bars, parks, or other types of places.

Users can also save locations if they want to check them out later.

The company started testing the updated map last year in certain countries, but according to Zuckerberg’s Story on Tuesday, it is now widely available.

The map feature feels like yet another move by Instagram to make the platform more welcoming for businesses, even if they are brick and mortar ones, following the addition of several e-commerce features to its app in recent months.

Given how many features Meta has been integrating across its platforms and how Facebook already suggests specific types of businesses on its places pages, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a similar map feature appear in other Meta apps in the near future.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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