Instagram has a new feature which is pretty much the same thing as a Snapchat story, but on Instagram.
Typically we all use Instagram to share photos, highlights of our days, and short video clips with our followers, but it looks like we’ll be able to share as though we were using Snapchat.
According to TechCrucnh, Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s CEO, did not disagree with their new feature being a Snapchat ripoff when they were confronted about the comparison.
He said, “They deserve all the credit..This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”
There’s no doubt that there are people who are loyal to Snapchat and probably won’t participate in the Instagram stories, however, there are also people who have FOMO (fear of missing out) and will most likely be into it as well.
In my opinion, the new feature is the exact same thing as Snapchat stories, with slight differences. Here is a breakdown of the similarities and differences in the two, courtesy of TechCrunch:
Similarities:
* The Stories format laces the last 24 hours of 10-second-max photos and videos you’ve shared into a slideshow you can tap to fast-forward through
* Everything you post disappears after 1 day
* You shoot full-screen in the app or upload things from the last 24 hours of your camera roll (recently added to Snapchat with Memories)
* You adorn your photos with drawings, text, emoji and swipeable color filters
* You can save your individual Story slides before or after posting them
* Your followers voluntarily tap in to pull your Story and view it, instead of it being pushed into a single feed
* People can swipe up to reply to your Stories, which are delivered through Instagram Direct private messages
* You can see who viewed your story
Differences:
* Instagram Stories appear in a row at the top of the main feed instead of on a separate screen like Snapchat, and are sorted by who you interact with most, not purely reverse chronological order like Snapchat
* 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
* You don’t have to be following someone to view their Instagram Stories, which can be viewed from their profile as long as they’re public
* You can swipe right or tap the Stories icon in the top left to open the Stories camera, as opposed to Snapchat defaulting to the camera
* You can hold the screen to pause a slideshow, or tap the left side to go back a slide, as opposed to Snapchat’s time-limited, constantly progressing Stories
* You can’t add old content to Instagram Stories unless you reimport or screenshot, while Snapchat lets you share old Memories with a white border and timestamp around them
* Instagram offers three brush types for drawing: standard, translucent highlighter and color-outlined neon, as opposed to Snapchat’s single brush
* Instagram offers custom color control for drawing with an easy picker, as well as pre-made palettes like earth-tones or grayscale, while Snapchat custom color control is much more clumsy
* Instagram currently lacks location filters, native selfie lens filters, stickers, 3D stickers and speed effects, but you can save content from third-party apps like Facebook-owned MSQRD and then share them
* You can’t see who screenshotted your Instagram Story, while Snapchat warns you
* You can’t save your whole day’s Story like on Snapchat, but you can post slides from your Story to the permanent Instagram feed
