Instagram launches Snapchat-like app that lets users instant message friends, share videos and status updates based on their movement throughout the day
- Instagram’s app is similar to Snapchat in that you share with friends you choose
- Users can share pictures and video with their Close Friends list
- Status are automatically updated based on user’s movement throughout the day
Instagram has yet again taken a page from Snapchat and this time its for a new standalone app.
Called Threads, the camera-based messaging app allows users to stay connected to a select group of friends, and share automatic status updates with them based on a user’s movements throughout the day.
Instagram says that feature shares small pieces of context with friends but will not give away their exact location, can only be seen by selected contacts and is opt-in.
Threads, which has striking similarities to Snapchat, is a new camera-based messaging app allows users to stay connected to a select group of friends
Instagram has previously been accused of aggressively targeting Snapchat and its popularity with teenage smartphone users – a demographic with which Snapchat remains one of the most commonly used social media platforms.
The new app will begin to roll out globally this week for both iOS and Android.
Threads, made specifically for Instagram users, lets you communicate only the friends of your choice.
Users can share pictures and videos in the app, and share automatic status updates with them based on a user’s movements throughout the day.
The automatic status updates can be chosen from a list of pre-made options – for example ‘studying’ or ‘on the move’, or can be created and personalized by the user to express what they are currently doing — similar to how the nostalgic AIM messenger status worked.
The standalone app is a companion to the main Instagram service, the firm said, and is based on the Close Friends feature of Instagram – a select list of contacts users can edit and then share content directly with.
The Facebook-owned company confirmed Threads users will only be able to message those contacts on their Close Friends list.
The rest of an account’s messaging content will continue to appear in the Instagram Direct section of the main Instagram app, the platform confirmed.
The standalone app is a companion to the main Instagram service, the firm said, and is based on the Close Friends feature of Instagram
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has previously said that private messaging is a key part of the company’s future.
However, the company has faced repeated suggestions it has targeted Snapchat when introducing new features.
The social networking giant and its wider family of apps – which also includes WhatsApp – introduced Stories, the chronological collection of pictures and videos which appear on user’s profile for 24 hours, after Snapchat had achieved success with the format.
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