Instagram has announced a new way of storytelling to its users. The social media app will allow users to incorporate posts into stories.
Sharing Stories
On Thursday, May 17, the social media company revealed that users can now access their posts or posts from people that they follow into their Instagram Stories. If users see something that they believe that their followers would like, they can quickly hit the paper airplane icon and then instantly, users will be greeted by an option that reads "Create a story with this post." Before users can send the post, they could also add stickers or background. Once users upload the post, they will see a credit given to the original uploader, which Instagram hopes that they would visit their channel.
Other Details
Users can only share posts that were created by public accounts. Also, story sharing will remain on as a default feature. If users want to make their posts private, they can switch story sharing off. Currently, Android smartphone users will be able to have access to the update. Instagram stated that iOS users could expect to receive the update in days.
'Usage Insights'
The Sharing Stories announcement comes days after Instagram planned to roll out a "Usage Insights" feature. Instagram's Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Systrom, revealed on Twitter that the app was working on the way to keep track of users' time on the app. Systrom's tweet came after media outlet TechCrunch was tipped off by developer Jane Manchun Wong. Wong found a piece of code labeled "slideout_menu_time_spent" inside Instagram's Android application package.
Social Media Update
Instagram is not the only social media platform rolling out significant changes. Snapchat employees gave the app an update to appease the 1.2 million users who were unhappy with the original redesign of the iOS version. The new layout returned the Chat and Snaps features to chronological order. Snapchat developers also put Stories on the right-hand side of the app.
Facebook is working on a way for its users to express themselves. The social media company is building a 3D avatar system. Wong found hints about the potential feature in the code of Facebook's Android version. From what she discovered, it appeared that Facebook Avatars might look identical to Snapchat's Bitmoji feature.
Loyal Vine users were disappointed to learn that the app's successor, V2, would be indefinitely postponed. On Friday, May 4, Vine cofounder Dom Hoffman revealed that he was unable to overcome roadblocks such as exponentially increasing legal fees and running out of funding to continue the application. Twitter, who bought the social media app in 2013, discontinued the service in 2017 due to financial problems and increased competition from Instagram.
Tech Times reached out to Instagram for a comment on this story.
