Instagram is adding new features to the app – here’s what you need to know

Instagram has announced several new features for Direct Messages. We put all innovations in a row for you.

Instagram adds new features

Instagram is rolling out new features for Direct Messages, including location sharing, adding nicknames and new sticker packs.

Share live location

It will be possible to share your location live with a friend in DMs. It will also be possible to pin a specific place on the map, so that you can find each other more easily in busy environments.

You can only share your live location privately in DMs or in a group chat. The feature is disabled by default. When you share your live location, sharing will automatically stop after one hour. Only those in the specific chat can see your location and they cannot share it with other chats.

At the top of the chat you will see an indicator so you don’t forget that you are sharing your live location. You can stop sharing your location at any time. Always pay attention to your privacy and only share your live location with people you know in real life.

Add nicknames

You’ll also soon be able to customize DMs in Instagram with nicknames for yourself or friends. This makes long usernames easier to recognize. Nicknames only appear in your DMs and don’t change your username anywhere else on Instagram. You can change your nickname at any time and you can also determine who can change your nickname in a chat. By default this is set to people you follow, but you can also change this so that only you can edit your nickname.

To create a nickname, tap the chat name at the top of the conversation. Then tap Nicknames and the username of the person you want to add a nickname for in the chat.

New stickers

In addition to the new location sharing and nicknames features, Instagram is also adding 17 new sticker packs with 300 new stickers that you can use in DMs. There’s also a new option to favorite a sticker, so you can easily reuse stickers shared by friends or ones you’ve created yourself.

New Instagram functions not yet available in the Netherlands

Instagram’s new features are currently only available in certain countries and unfortunately not yet in the Netherlands. It is not yet known when the functions will be added here. We expect them to appear here in the not too distant future.