Instagram introduces Instagram Stories

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 3, 2016

Instagram has just introduced Stories, a new feature similar to Snapchat that lets users "share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile."

Multiple photos and videos are shown in a slideshow format as a story, and stories can be customized with text and drawing tools. But whereas Snaps on Snapchat disappear once you've viewed them, Instagram's Stories remain up for 24 hours before disappearing.

They're not shown in feeds but instead in a bar at the top of users' feeds, with users' profiles updated with a colourful ring around them when there's a new story to view. There are no likes or public comments; instead you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct.

Instagram Stories will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on iOS and Android, and it remains to be seen which will be the first fashion company to use the new feature for a campaign or advertising. Research released in June revealed that advertising agencies are for the first time turning to Instagram more frequently than Twitter for social media ad campaigns, though Instagram-owner Facebook is still the most popular option.