On August 2nd, Instagram launched their newest feature: Instagram Stories. For those that are avid users of the Snapchat app, countless users will come to the conclusion that Instagram Stories is vaguely familiar, if not an exact replica. Many critics will say that Instagram copied Snapchat with the new feature; however, many other critics will say that it was a smart and wise move on Instagram’s behalf. Instagram Stories is a new feature that lives at the top of your newsfeed and allows you to pop in a stream of photos that expire after 24 hours, just like Snapchat Stories.
For those who do not know what Instagram is, it is an online mobile app that allows users to share their life with friends and family through a series of pictures and videos. Within the app, users can edit and transform photos to their liking while keeping the memories forever. And for those who do not know what Snapchat is, it is an online mobile app that allows users to post and send photos and videos instantly and delete after a few seconds or 24 hours if posted to the user’s story. Many people also view Snapchat as a form of instant messaging.
Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, has been trying to outdo Snapchat for quite some time now. Especially after Snapchat’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, declined Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, $3 billion cash acquisition to buy Snapchat a few years ago. This was after Zuckerberg announced to Spiegel that they planned to launch a new app that basically copied Snapchat. This app was called Slingshot and was pulled from the app store in 2015. Apparently, being a Facebook creation has no advantage.
With that being said, Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” With Instagram having over 500 million users, and Snapchat having over 150 million users, Instagram copied Snapchat Story but updated and improved it to make it simpler for users. Many users have found Snapchat to be confusing due to all the swiping and double-clicking. Instagram installed features that directly let users know how to use the Stories feature, unlike Snapchat. It made the new feature on the app simple and easy to use instantly allowing all users of all ages to access with the simple updating of the app. However, while Instagram has made their new feature simple and seamless, they don’t have the Geofilters or face-changing filters effects that Snapchat does.
Snapchat has still yet to make a comment on Instagram’s latest action, but many Snapchat employees are finding the latest activity quite amusing. So the real question is, do you prefer to stay loyal to Snapchat or venture over to Instagram Stories?
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