Instagram keeps pushing against Snapchat. The Facebook-owned app keeps adding and improving the Stories feature, a feature that has been blatantly copied from Snapchat.
To make its Stories feature more appealing, Instagram has added text-only Stories option, called 'Type'.
This enables users to create a blank screen over which they can then overlay with text and choose the fonts they like to spice things up.
Instagram is also adding transparent background GIF library for Stories, in collaboration with GIPHY.
Here, Instagram introduces a new GIF category, which connects users to a custom set of GIFs. Each of those GIFs is custom-designed to be standalone, which means that users can add animations on top of their Story posts, as opposed to being posted by themselves.
These are small updates. But each certainly adds up to the Stories experience, and at the same time, hurting Snapchat.
"From bouncing letters and twirling hearts to dancing cats and pizza in space, these animated stickers help you make any photo or video funny, interesting or creative."
In addition to Text and GIFs, Instagram’s also rolling out the ability to upload photos and videos of any size to a Story. This will enable users to share their images or videos in their original dimensions - square, portrait or landscape - with any extra space filled with custom color gradient that matches the content they’ve shared.
Instagram also added a notification feature which alerts users when someone has taken a screenshot of their Story, a feature that is similar to Snapchat's. Previously, Instagram added an active user status indicator in direct messaging which allows users to know when their connections are available.