Instagram’s trying to make it easier to find nearby businesses
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 from Mark Zuckerberg. The map will show you a list of places nearby and will let you see posts about a certain place or see only certain types of business.
There are a few ways to get to the map — if someone tags a place in a post or story, you can tap on the tag and hit “see location” to get to the location’s page. If you move around on the map, you’ll then be able to search the area to see what’s nearby.
You 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 you’ve searched an area, you can use filters to narrow down the search results so you only see restaurants, bars, parks, or other types of places. You can also save locations if you want to check them out later. (You access saved places by going to your profile, tapping the hamburger menu in the top right, and tapping Saved.)
The company started testing the updated map last year in certain countries, but according to Zuckerberg’s Story on Tuesday, it’s now widely available.
Instagram has been adding several e-commerce features to its app in recent months, and the map feature feels like another move to make the platform more friendly for businesses, albeit brick-and-mortar ones. Given that Facebook already suggests certain types of businesses on its places pages and how many features Meta has been sharing between its platforms, it wouldn’t necessarily be surprising if we saw a similar map feature show up in other Meta apps in the near future.
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