Instagram takes on Snapchat with Stories feature
Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram has added a new feature called Stories, bringing it into direct competition with social media rival Snapchat.
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Just like on Snapchat, Instagram users can now take photos and short videos; add emojis, drawings, and text to images; tap to go to the next segment of the story; choose who can view posts; and have the story disappear after 24 hours.
"As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: Your story," Instagram said in a blog post.
"The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won't appear on your profile grid or in feed."
A rainbow-coloured circle around a user's profile picture at the top of their feed will denote when they have created a Story.
"To view someone's story, just tap on their profile photo," Instagram added.
"Tap to go back and forward, or swipe to jump to another person's story. If you want to comment on something you see, you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments."
Instagram has said it will be rolling out Instagram Stories on iOS and Android globally over the coming weeks.
Facebook acquired popular photo-sharing app Instagram for $300 million and 23 million shares in April 2012, with Snapchat reportedly knocking back a $3 billion offer from Facebook in 2013.
According to a study by market intelligence firm SimilarWeb in June, the average time spent on Instagram in the United States is 19.93 minutes per day, while Snapchat users spend 18 minutes per day on it despite the brevity of the images.
Snapchat is now valued at around $18 billion, with more daily users than Twitter.
With AAP