Instagram’s Snapchat-like update offers 24-hour-limit ‘stories’

Users of Instagram, a photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc, can now post picture and video slideshows that last 24 hours, a feature similar to the signature function of social media rival Snapchat.

Snapchat, which launched in 2011, got its initial boost from millennials, especially teenagers, who value the privacy that the app offers. Text messages disappear right after they are read, and posts expire after 24 hours.

As with Snapchat, the new Instagram Stories feature allows its 500 million members to annotate their posts with emojis, doodles and texts, Instagram said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The feature is the latest salvo between Facebook, which bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and Snapchat, which rejected Facebook’s $3 billion buyout offer just three years ago, as they try to attract more users.

Snapchat is popular with younger people who want to shield their posts from the eyes of their parents, who are more likely to be on Facebook, whose 1.7 billion monthly users tend to be older. Snapchat recently surpassed Twitter Inc in daily users and is valued at around $18 billion.

Today, we’re introducing Instagram Stories, a new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story. With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about overposting. Instead, you can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want. You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed. You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed — from your best friends to your favorite popular accounts. When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colorful ring around it. To view someone’s story, just tap on their profile photo. It’s easy to view stories at your own pace: tap to go back and forward or swipe to jump to another person’s story. If you want to comment on something you see, you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments. Your story follows the privacy settings of your account. If you set your account to private, your story is visible only to your followers. However, you can also easily hide your entire story from anyone you don’t want to see it, even if they follow you. When watching your own story, swipe up to check out who’s seen each photo and video. You can even choose to feature a particular part of your story by posting it on your profile. Instagram has always been a place to share the moments you want to remember. Now you can share your highlights and everything in between, too. Instagram Stories will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on iOS and Android. To learn more, check out help.instagram.com.

A video posted by Instagram (@instagram) on Aug 2, 2016 at 7:00am PDT

In July, Snapchat introduced a Memories feature that enables users to save and share their content, as on Facebook.

Instagram Stories allows followers to send direct messages to the uploader but users cannot “like” an image or post a comment, as in Facebook.

Instagram Stories is available in the United States and will roll out globally over the next few weeks on Apple Inc iPhones and Alphabet Inc’s Android-based smartphones, Instagram said.

“This is the latest step in putting video at the center of all our services. People are already creating and sharing more video, so we’re going to make it even easier,” Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook account.

Many replies to Zuckerberg’s post pointed out the new feature’s resemblance to Snapchat.

Facebook user Antoine Maillot wrote: “Snapchat-like on Facebook World… No, I prefer the real Snapchat app, sorry.”

Shares of Facebook fell 1.1 percent to $122.92 at mid-afternoon.