Instagram copies Snapchat, rolls out 'stories' feature

The social media picture blogging platform Instagram has rolled out 'Instagram stories', a feature quite similar to most features that Snapchat offers, including timelines, selecting your audience and temporary posts.

 

The new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, even those that you may not want to keep permanently on your profile. 

 

As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow blandly titled 'your story'.

 

With this new feature, a user can stop worrying about 'over posting' pictures since the posts only last a single 24-hour period. 

 

And much like Snapchat, users can be creative with their images thanks to a new text and draw tool.

 

A story created and posted will stay for a day and automatically vanish, and its visibility can be limited to particular friends on your list. 

 

These posts will not appear on a user’s profile view.

 

An Instagram blog said, "You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed—from your best friends to your favourite, popular accounts. When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colourful ring around it."

 

Unlike the usual posts on Instagram, there are no options to like or comment on a story. If you see a ring around a profile picture; you can tap on it and see the story they have posted.

 

With approximately 300 million active users on Instagram, this new feature seems squarely aimed at the Snapchat crowd.