Instagram Copies Snapchat, Launches Disappearing Photos & Videos; Announces Live Feature in the Latest Update

Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook) are not leaving any stones unturned to copy Snapchat and the wildly popular disappearing photos feature. Snapchat introduced an idea that clicked with the younger generation and now almost every other social media platform is trying to copy that.

Recently it was Facebook planning to launch Flash, an idea similar to that of Snapchat, and now it is Instagram that has unveiled two new features in this latest update to the app. The app has two updates: live video on Instagram Stories and disappearing photos and videos for groups and friends in Instagram Direct.

Instagram introduced Snapchat-like stories in August, and since then it has been planning on launching similar features to take on Snapchat. What started as a photo-posting platform has now also become a photo and video-sharing platform.

Just after the launch, we see a lot of celebrities using Instagram stories, so it is quite obvious that these new features will also become a hit. Snapchat does have to worry a bit because Instagram has been a famous platform already and it plans to steal all the features one-by-one.

Live Video on Instagram

It was already on Facebook and was expected to come on Instagram as well. The live video feature let’s your friends watch you live for a specific period of time. And the video remains as a memory once it’s over.

Similar to that, Instagram let’s you be live and reach out to your followers on the platform. It is another way of connecting with people around the globe, who follow you. It has been used by companies, startups, celebrities and even artists on Facebook.

To start live video, just swipe right from feed to open the camera, tap the “Start Live Video” button and start sharing for up to an hour. Your friends may get a notification when you go live so they can tune in. While you’re live, you can pin a comment for everyone to see or turn comments off altogether.

When someone you follow starts a live story, you’ll see “Live” under their profile photo in the stories bar. During the broadcast, you can comment and like as much as you want. You can also check out new live stories on Explore. Tap “Top Live” to see exciting live stories happening at that moment and swipe right and left to easily skip around.

Temporary self-destructing photos and videos

Everyone who uses Snapchat knows about this feature as this is exactly what the app is all about. Now Instagram has unabashedly copied the exact thing on their app. In Instagram as well, you can send disappearing snaps and videos to your friends individually or in a group.

The blog post mentions, “Since launching improvements to Instagram Direct last year, the number of people using Direct each month has grown from 80 million to 300 million people around the world. In fact, many of them use group threads every day to stay in touch with their closest friends and family.”

Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video, then tap the arrow to send it privately. Unlike other messages in Direct, these photos and videos disappear from your friends’ inboxes after they have seen them. And you’ll see if they replayed it or took a screenshot, straight out of Snapchat.

You can only send these photos and videos to people you follow, even if you account is public. For everything else, there is Stories feature.

To open your inbox, tap the new paper airplane icon at the top right corner of your feed or swipe left. You’ll see disappearing photos and videos in a bar at the top. Tap the ones with blue rings to see what your friends sent you. In a group, you can see everyone’s responses — and who else has seen them — in a slideshow format. Then when you’re done, just tap their faded profile photo to send a quick response.

This is blind plagiarism, and something Snapchat must contest to. But such things have been copied from long time back and it’s not even considered unethical to do so. However, this leaves no space for innovation and clearly Facebook is not even ashamed of it.

Source: Instagram