Instagram Copies Snapchat (Again) With New Feature

One of the defining feature of Snapchat is ‘disappearing photos and videos’ which users can send to someone directly, well guess who has come out with a similar feature? Instagram has announced disappearing photos and videos for groups and friends in Instagram Direct.

This isn’t the first time Instagram has borrowed popular features from Snapchat; three months ago the company announced ‘Instagram Stories’ which drew comparisons with Snapchat Stories.

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom admitted that Snapchat deserves credit for the feature, telling TechCrunch: “No one looks down at someone for adopting something that is so obviously great for presenting a certain type of information. And I think what you see is that every company looks around and adopts the best of the best formats or state-of-the-art technology.”

But the new ‘disappearing’ feature was announced today in a press release:

Launching Disappearing Photos and Videos for Groups and Friends in Instagram Direct

Now you can send disappearing photos and videos directly to groups and individual friends in a spontaneous, pressure-free way.

Since launching improvements to Instagram Direct last year, the number of people using Direct each month has grown from 80 million to 300 million people around the world. In fact, many of them use group threads every day to stay in touch with their closest friends and family.

Today’s update keeps regular direct messages the same and adds a more visual way to connect with your closest friends — all in one convenient place.

Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video, then tap the arrow to send it privately. You can choose a group or create one in just a few taps — and you can also send to individual friends at the same time. Send anything you want, from inside jokes to your worst selfies. Unlike other messages in Direct, these photos and videos disappear from your friends’ inboxes after they have seen them. And you’ll see if they replayed it or took a screenshot.

Whether your account is set to public or private, you can only send disappearing photos and videos to people who follow you.

To open your inbox, tap the new paper airplane icon at the top right corner of your feed or swipe left. You’ll see disappearing photos and videos in a bar at the top. Tap the ones with blue rings to see what your friends sent you. In a group, you can see everyone’s responses — and who else has seen them — in a slideshow format. Then when you’re done, just tap their faded profile photo to send a quick response.

Disappearing photos and videos in Instagram Direct will start rolling out globally today.

The Facebook-owned app also announced it’s rolling out live video for Instagram Stories. The feature—which begins rolling out in the States today and will become global over the next few weeks—will let users share live video for up to an hour.

“Live video on Instagram Stories helps you connect with your friends and followers right now,” according to a blog post. “When you’re done, your live story disappears from the app so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime.”

To “go live,” users can swipe right from their feed to open the camera before tapping the “Start Live Video” button. Users will also be able to see who else is livestreaming at any given time in the Explore section of the app by tapping the “Top Live” button.