Instagram has released a new set of features for Stories and Direct, the so-called Snapchat copycats that would make the feature more fun and interactive.
However, what captured the attention of many aren't just the new stickers and features, but the fact that the announcement also states that 200 million people use Instagram Stories every day, beating their competitor, Snapchat, with 160 million users.
Pinning And Selfie Stickers
No, this is not Pinterest, but it is Instagram's latest addition to Direct and Stories. The feature allows users to take mini-selfies of themselves and use them as stickers that they can send to their peers. To create the selfie stickers, one must simply tap the smiley face when taking a video or photo, and clicking on a new sticker with a camera icon.
Frames, styles, and other creativity tools could be used to boost the uniqueness of sticker selfies, and they can also be pinned to videos by simply tapping and holding the selfie sticker, moving it to the desired location, and tapping "Pin."
Further, a simple swipe to the right after clicking the smiley face would give users access to their favorite stickers, and the hands-free mode when taking videos now shows a timer countdown when you tap and hold the record button.
Geostickers From Local Artists
Instagram users from Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, or London will be able to see geostickers for their cities in the coming days. The geostickers are created by local artists, and should users want to learn more about the particular artist, a simple tap of the sticker would reveal the artist's username.
These updates are available for versions 10.16 for iOS users, and 10.16.1 for Android users.
Fierce Competition
The social media competition is growing even fiercer for Snapchat as it continues to face Facebook head on. Though the competition sometimes remains friendly, just like Snapchat's April Fools prank where they trolled Instagram, neither company looks like they are backing down any time soon as they continue to roll out new updates to thrill their users.
People have called Facebook's additions as copycats of Snapchat, but what seems like desperate moves may actually be well thought out. With Facebook's growing 1.2 billion daily average users, swiping a small amount of users from Snapchat's 150 million could do much damage to the smaller company while doing little to Facebook's reputation.
At the end of the day, no matter how many people call Facebook and its subsidiaries' features as copycats, the 200 million users of Instagram Stories in just eight months of existence beats Snapchat's 160 million in six years, giving this round to Instagram.
