Instagram is Taking Over Snapchat, Inching Them off the Ledge – Slowly

In an announcement, thinly veiled as an announcement for new sticker tools – Instagram has casually dumped in some figures to show Snapchat who’s boss – despite being the cloned twin.

Instagram announced in a post stating that they are introducing stickers – where you can “turn your selfie into a sticker so you can quickly share your reaction or trade faces with someone (or something) in your story.”

When you take a photo or video and tap the smiley face, you’ll see a new sticker with a camera icon that lets you capture a mini-selfie. Before or after capturing, tap to apply different frame styles: fade or circle. Put your selfie sticker anywhere, adjust the size and use as many other creative tools as you want.

That aside, interestingly, Instagram notes that there are “Over 200 million people now use Instagram Stories every day to keep up with friends and accounts they love.” Snapchat in its February IPO filing revealed that “on average, 158 million people use Snapchat daily.”

So if all sources are to be believed – Instagram is roasting Snapchat ever so subtly?

That aside if you actually want to know more about the stickers, there are also geostickers for Chicago, London, Madrid or Tokyo. All of the geostickers have been designed by local community members to help bring the cities they call home to life. You’ll be able to see the artist’s username when you tap the sticker, so you can learn more about their unique artwork.

Also rolling out a shortcut to your favourite stickers. After tapping the smiley face, swipe right to see your recently used stickers. Also, when you record a video using “Hands-Free” mode, tap and hold the button to see a timer that counts down to when the video begins.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 10.16 for iOS in the Apple App Store and version 10.16.1 for Android in Google Play.

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