Instagram, which has been adding quite a few interesting and clipping features, has now come up with another new update to its version 10.3 wherein it is introducing a set of tools that will help the users to add creativity and context to their Stories.
The photo-sharing social network has brought in new stickers which can be added to the stories, making it more fun during the holiday season. There is also this new feature called the hands-free video. Since the time the previous update was released in the last month, people have been using Boomerang and Mentions to a great extent so that they can make their stories more fun. And now, Instagram has introduced new ways to turn in a moment into something which can be shared by friends and by followers.
The new features have been designed to give the Instagram users numerous ways of customizing their experience and also to have fun sharing content with others. However, it looks like the competition with Snapchat and other social networking apps are the primary motivational reason for Instagram to buck up its features.
Stickers to Story
The users will now be able to add context to their story by putting in stickers, irrespective of where they are or what they are doing. So, once a photo or a video has been taken, a new stickers button will be seen beside the text and the drawing tools. Upon tapping the smiley face icon, the users will be able to find stickers that are customized like for the weather, for the current time, and even for location. When the location sticker is added it works the same way like when a location has been added to the posts which can be shared onto the feed. The user will just have to choose the location or search for their location and add it. The other people who are viewing the story of the user will able to learn more about the location by just tapping on the sticker. However, the story will not show up on the location page.
It is easy for the users to customize the stickers on their own, i.e. they can move the stickers around, make it bigger or smaller, and also choose from the various styles so that it can match the mood of the user. The vibrant stickers will add that extra punch and pop of color to the story, whereas the subtle stickers will make the video or the photo shine. And the best part is that the user is allowed to add as many stickers as they wish to, to any part of their story.
Right in time for the holiday season, Instagram has also added a new set of holiday stickers, which will be available for the next couple of weeks to make the festive season more fun. A special new candy cane brush has been added which is definitely a sweet addition to the drawing tools. Instagram had mentioned in its official blog post that the users should keep an eye out for another new set of stickers that will be ringing in during the New Year.
Hands-Free Video
Instagram has added a new ‘Hands-Free’ option in the format picker which will allow the user to start recording a video with just a single tap. So, the users can now do anything they wish to and also record the video with just one tap instead of pressing and holding the record button. The users will also be able to add as much text as they want to their videos and photos by just tapping on the text button to add more. The users will have to choose the left, right, and center justified text, and a new slider will allow them to easily adjust the size with automatic text wrap.
Another interesting update from Instagram, exclusively for the iOS users is that they can now save their entire story from the past 24 hours to their camera roll as one single video.
All these updates for Instagram Stories will be available as part of Instagram version 10.3 that is available for Android in Google Play Store and for iOS in the Apple App Store.