Instagram is adding a handful of new features to Stories to give users more creative ways to share content and interact with each other, according to the company was announced the manufacture. Most notably, the social network is introducing a new “Reveal” feature that lets you post a hidden story for your followers to discover by sending you a DM. Instagram is also rolling out other features that let you share your favorite songs and highlight memories through Stories.
To access the new Reveal feature, you need to tap on the stickers icon while creating a story and select the “Reveal” option. From there, you’ll be prompted to type in a hint for your fuzzy story. Once you post your Story, your friends will only be able to see your story content if they DM you.
Image Credits: Instagram
While the feature could be a nice way to start a conversation with a friend, Reveal is especially useful for creators as it would allow them to get more engagement with their Stories. Instagram notes that you won’t need to approve every DM for your Story to be revealed, so creators won’t have to worry about receiving thousands of DMs.
Instagram is also launching a new “Add Your Music” sticker for Stories that allows users to share a song that fits their mood while encouraging their followers to share a song as well. The feature is based on Instagram’s “Add Your Own” sticker that allows users to reply to other users’ stories by following their own commands or a specific topic.
Image Credits: Instagram
Additionally, users get access to a new “Frames” feature that turns a photo into a virtual Polaroid that users can view by shaking their phone (if you don’t want to shake your phone, you can click the “Shake to Reveal” button While Stories are traditionally used to share content about what you’re currently doing, this new feature is designed to be more of a retrospective.
Once you select an image to view, the Frames sticker will automatically add the date and time stamp the photo was taken. You can also choose to add a caption to the virtual Polaroid.
Image Credits: Instagram
Another new feature called “Cutouts” will allow users to turn part of any video or photo in their camera roll into a custom sticker that they can add to a story or reel. The feature is similar to Apple’s Image Crop tool, which allows you to “lift” an object from a photo or video with a single tap of your finger.
The rollout of the new features comes as Instagram announced on Tuesday that it is introducing some new changes to its ranking systems to better highlight content from smaller, original creators. As part of the changes, Instagram is replacing reposts with original content in suggestions, adding tags to reposted content and removing content aggregators from suggestions. The announcement followed months of criticism from creators who said their reach has been negatively affected by the algorithm.
