Instagram introduces Snapchat-like feature called ‘Stories’

“Instagram has always been a place to share the moment you want to remember”, said an Instagram press release. The idea was that users could create a collection of photos and video that had a lifespan of 24 hours. “Anyone you allow to follow you on Instagram can see your Instagram Stories, though you can also block people, as opposed to building a separate network on Snapchat”. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story.

So as you can see, there’s plenty of similarities between Instagram’s stories feature and Snapchat’s stories feature.

If you are anxious about who will be able to see your Instagram Stories, fear not. Unlike Instagram’s normal feed, you can’t like or comment on a story; instead, the service encourages users to utilize the direct messages feature.

A full video on Instagram’s Stories can be seen below. We weren’t kidding; it’s exactly like Snapchat Stories.

Make your Stories private: If your account is set to private, your story will only be visible to your followers.

To view other user’s Stories, you simply tap on their profile photo. What’s more, you can also feature a particular part of your story by posting it to your profile. You know, sort of like Snapchat.

How is Instagram Stories different from Snapchat Stories?

Snapchat Stories has been around longer, so it has more tricks to play with, such as live filters and face-swapping.

Interestingly, Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom is utterly honest about his appropriation, telling TechCrunch that Snapchat’s team members “deserve all the credit”, and that “This isn’t about who invented something”.

Instagram Stories is available in the United States and will roll out globally over the next few weeks on Apple Inc iPhones and Alphabet Inc’s Android-based smartphones, Instagram said.