Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram has announced a new feature that’ll be all-too-familiar to users of the rival Snapchat app.
Instagram Stories enables users to annotate images and videos with text, doodles and cartoonish items like sunglasses and baby bottles.
Just like its namesake over at Snapchat, the images are uploaded to a slideshow and then disappear 24 hours after they’re posted.
Apparently the idea is designed to prevent users worrying about over-posting or messing up their carefully-curated permanent feeds with frivolous imagery.
“You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed — from your best friends to your favorite popular accounts,” Instagram explained in a blog post.
“When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colorful ring around it.”
Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or comments involved, but viewers can tap to send a private message to the poster.
The release is the latest effort from Facebook’s properties to incorporate Snapchat’s popular features. However, at least this time there has been no attempts to spin the launch as anything but imitation.
Speaking to TechCrunch, founder and CEO Kevin Systrom said: “They [Snapchat] deserve all the credit.”
“When you are an innovator, that’s awesome. Just like Instagram deserves all the credit for bringing filters to the forefront. This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”
To be fair, Systrom has a point. Will you be taking Instagram Stories for a spin? Share your thoughts below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
