Instagram is copying Snapchat's Stories with posts that disappear after 24 hours
Instagram has Snapchat envy.
That much is clear from a new feature the Facebook-owned app announced on Tuesday called Stories. You can share a photo or video (up to 10 seconds long) with your friends on Instagram that disappears after 24 hours.
Sound familiar?
It should: Snapchat has an almost identical product that it also calls Stories.
The familiarity between the two apps doesn't stop there; Instagram's camera interface for creating Stories lets you doodle in different colors and add fun stickers.
Look familiar? Instagram
Here's how Instagram describes the new feature, which will be made available soon on iPhone and Android:
"With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about overposting. Instead, you can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want. You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed."
Like Snapchat, Instagram Stories from your friends will be shown in circular thumbnails at the top of your feed that you can tap to view. A story you share will only be visible to your friends if you have a private account — otherwise it will be visible to anyone who stumbles on your profile.
Instagram is doing something different from Snapchat by letting you share a story with a group of friends. You can also tap on the left of the screen while watching a story to rewind. But apart from that, the feature works almost identically to Snapchat.
Instagram already has celebrities like Nick Jonas using its Stories feature. Instagram
Reports have said that Instagram (along with Facebook) has seen a decline in sharing, which may explain why the app is trying to replicate how Snapchat works. Facebook tried to buy Snapchat in 2013 and has since released multiple attempts to compete with the messaging app, including failed clones called Poke and Slingshot.
While you can only draw over Instagram Stories, add text, and apply a few color filters now, it would make sense for the Facebook-owned MSQRD app's animated face masks to show up in the app eventually. That would put Instagram Stories even more closely on par with Snapchat and its 3D face Lenses.
Instagram CEO Kevin Systromtold The New York Times in a recent interview that , “Stories will alleviate a ton of the pressure people have to post their absolute best stuff.”
little circular thumbnails at the top of your feed, and you tap to progress through a story like you can on Snapchat.
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