Instagram has never shied away from head to head competition with Snapchat and its most recent update demonstrates that. In an Instagram blog post, the social media site announced the launch of a new feature that allows users to “remix” photos they’ve received from friends.
When viewing images from friends, users can now tap the camera icon in the lower left corner to access new annotation features. You can then add stickers, text and drawings directly to the image and send it back:
When viewing a photo message from a friend, tap the camera icon at the bottom and capture a reply. Your reply includes a sticker of what you’re replying to. Move and resize it, and add your own twist with stickers, text and drawings.
Snapchat has supported image annotations since the beginning but what makes it unique is that users can annotate images originally shared by other users. In Snapchat, users can only annotate their own images and those shared by certain news sources such as CNN and The Daily Mail.
As well as the new Remix feature, Instagram is making changes to replays to include an endless loop option:
Choose “One View” for messages you want your friends to only see once. For everything else, choose “Allow Replay” so your friends have more time to view your messages. Photos and videos sent with “Allow Replay” loop automatically and your friends can tap and hold to pause.
These changes rolled out yesterday on both on iOS and Android but if you don’t have them yet, don’t panic, it might take a few days.