Facebook goes after Snapchat with Instagram Stories
The war between Facebook and Snapchat just got real.
The Facebook-owned photos app just introduced a new feature called Instagram Stories and yes -- it's a lot like Snapchat's feature of the same name.
Instagram Stories, which is beginning to roll out to users now, allow users to create ephemeral "slideshows" separate from their main feed, which disappear after 24 hours. Like Snapchat, you can annotate your images with doodles, text and emoji and keep tabs on who is viewing your Story.
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Stories live in a bar at the top of your home feed. Like the photos and videos that appear in your feed, Stories are algorithmically ranked, though not by the same algorithm that determines the order of your feed. Instead, they are ranked based on relationship -- people you are closer to should, in theory, be closer to the front of the queue.
Navigating the Stories themselves, though, is slightly different than Snapchat. Tapping right will advance you to the next image or video in a story while tapping left will take you to the previous one and swiping left will skip to the next Story in your feed.
As with Snapchat, you can check who is looking at your Story. The default settings allow anyone who follows you to be able to see your Story, but you can opt to hide Stories from specific users. Additionally, if you have a public account, anyone who views your profile will be able to view your current Story by tapping on your profile image.
One interesting difference between Snapchat and Instagram's version of the features is that Instagram only allows you to share photos you've previously taken if they were shot within the last 24 hours. Snapchat added the ability to share old photos via a new feature called Memories in a recent update, though users can see if a photo was shot outside of the app.
Minor differences not withstanding, it's difficult to ignore just how similar Instagram's Stories are to Snapchat's. Instagram's official line on the similarities between the two apps, by the way, is that Stories are simply "a new format" that they they have chosen to adopt.
"Stories are a new format that's just starting to see broad adoption, and we're excited to bring them to Instagram and help evolve them," an Instagram spokesperson said in a statement to Mashable. "Over the years we’ve been really successful at bringing new formats to Instagram like video, messaging with Direct, and Boomerang."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg weighed in on the Instagram update Tuesday. "This is the latest step in putting video at the center of all our services," he wrote in a Facebook post. "People are already creating and sharing more video, so we're going to make it even easier."
Facebook, of course, has tried many times (unsuccessfully) to emulate Snapchat in some way -- both through new standalone apps and through features within its own apps.
Snapchat aside, Instagram appears to be hoping Stories will increase engagement and motivate users to post more often. In a blog post Tuesday, the company notes that though not every moment may be worthy of your main feed, they may still have a place on Instagram.
"Instagram has always been a place to share the moments you want to remember. Now you can share your highlights and everything in between, too."
Whether will like the feature, though, is another matter. Both the introduction of the algorithmic feed and the app's recent redesign, sparked almost immediate protests from users.
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
