Instagram Stories may be new, but it looks a lot like Snapchat...
In a blog post, published Tuesday morning, Instagram shared an upcoming timeline “innovation” that will be making its way to the image-based social media platform later this month. The new feature is called Instagram “Stories” but ironically, it’s nothing new – particularly if you’re a regular Snapchat user.
According to Instagram’s blog post, the new feature will allow users to “share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile.”
The new stories feature allows Instagram users the option to post multiple stories and videos together in a daily “story” that will disappear after 24 hours (sound familiar yet?) while also allowing them to doodle, add emoji and other embellishments to posts in an Instagram story.
Instagram says the new feature will allow users to share more of their day with followers, without having to worry about “over posting”
“You can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want,” the post explains, “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.”
Pictures taken on Instagram or found in your personal Photo roll can be added to Instagram Stories with a simple tap of a button and you’ll be able to adjust the privacy setting of your posts to be public or only for people that you’ve approved to follow you.
If you follow someone who’s posted a new Instagram Story, their profile pic will appear at the top of your feed with a colored circle around it to indicate new content. You can choose whether to view the story or just let it expire.
It’s simple to see what Instagram would want to add these fun features to their app, but as a regular Snapchat user, the feature definitely smacks of Snapchat envy on Instagram’s part. And while this isn’t the first time that a social media site was seen copying a feature from another (we’re looking at you Facebook and Twitter);nonetheless, Instagram’s upcoming Stories feature has faithful Snapchat users up in arms, taking to Twitter to voice their disdain.
Instagram Stories pic.twitter.com/gDLdGNMbna
— @joshhunt@hachyderm.io (@joshhunt) August 2, 2016
We have an app for stories. It's called snapchat. Stick to what you know. Including chronological timelines... https://t.co/tRs2V0CmHa
— priyanka ? (@TheChosenPun) August 2, 2016
Despite being an obvious Snapchat copycat, the Stories update could be a smart move on Instagram’s part. While the feature isn’t likely to take away from Snapchat’s current user base, it could put it in competition for future Snapchat users in countries around the world.
It's not for you - Instagram stories are for the huge percentage of people outside north America who have yet to download Snapchat.
— Aaron Gotwalt (@gotwalt) August 2, 2016
There have been very few details released on Snapchat’s user demographics worldwide, but the app’s audience in predominantly found in English-speaking countries like the United States and Ireland . Meanwhile, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has a much broader international user base and falls in the top ten most used mobile apps worldwide.
The new Instagram Stories feature is scheduled to slowly roll out to users worldwide over the next several weeks. Once the feature is live, we’ll be sure to update this post. For more information about the new feature, you can visit Instagram’s official Stories support page.
