Instagram has released its very own ‘Stories’ feature, seemingly taking inspiration from rival Snapchat, who introduced ‘Snapchat Stories‘ some time ago. It’s a move that has caused a big stir within the digital world, and has apparently been designed to make it easier for users to capture and share ‘daily moments’ with their followers.
What are its features?
Similar to Snapchat, the streams of images disappear after 24 hours, with users allowed to share a chronological slideshow of videos and pictures with their nearest and dearest. The new feature enables you to share as much as you want throughout the day (bring your story to life with the brand new drawing and text tools), safe in the knowledge that all photos and videos will disappear and won’t interfere with your profile grid or in the daily feed.
How can I find my friends’ stories?
Stories from people or favourite accounts you follow will appear at the top of your feed; a colourful ring around the profile picture means there is something new to see. A simple tap on their profile picture will allow you to view their images/videos. Instagram Stories makes it easy for users to go at a pace that suits them. To go back a picture, simply tap the left side of the screen, and to skip to the next one, tap the right side. If you’re bored of the story you’re on, simply swipe and you’ll jump to another person’s story. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments available on this feature, only Instagram Direct messages which allow you to comment to the user directly.
Who can see my story?
This depends entirely on the privacy settings of your account. If you only want it to be visible to your followers, you’ll have to set your account to private. Alternatively, if you want to hide your story from some of your friends, whilst letting other friends view it, this can also be done very easily; when watching your own story, swipe up to check who’s seen each photo and video and select accordingly.
Instagram stories has been rolled out globally over the last few days and is available on iOS and Android. How do you think it compares to Snapchat Stories?