Instagram is launching a number of new features in the hopes that they would improve user interaction and sharing with friends.
One of them is Candid Stories, a function that strikingly resembles BeReal, a well-known photo-sharing social networking app. Similar to BeReal, Candid Stories alerts you daily to take and post two unedited pictures of what you are doing in real-time using the front and rear cameras on your phone. You may also add text and drawings to your posts and take candid photos with the Stories camera or in a multi-author Story. You can disable the daily notification reminder in Settings if you prefer not to receive it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that starting on Tuesday, Instagram will begin testing Candid Stories in South Africa. When the capability will be accessible worldwide is still unknown.
Another feature is Notes, which lets you send brief messages of up to 60 characters to individuals you’ve designated as close friends or people who have followed you back. In a user’s inbox, notes, which are now rolling out to everyone, will show up as thought bubbles above your profile picture. Direct messages will show up in response to your notes.
Other functionalities are also being tested by Instagram. One of these is Group Profile, which enables users to share stories and posts with other members rather than their entire following. Collaborative Collections is an additional feature that lets you share saved stuff with other users, including memes and clothing. Last but not least, Instagram’s Add Yours feature, which encourages users to upload content to Stories, is receiving a nomination feature, allowing you to nominate particular friends by sending them a prompt that makes you think of them.
In Taiwan, Chile, and Canada, group profiles have already undergone testing. On the other hand, Collaborative Collections and Add Yours nominations will start testing this coming Tuesday for a small number of users globally.
Via: Wall Street Journal
