Instagram prototypes video co-watching

The next phase of social media is about hanging out together while apart. Rather than performing on a live stream or engaging with a video chat, Instagram may allow you to chill and watch videos together with a friend. Facebook already has Watch Party for group co-viewing and in November we broke the news that […]

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Instagram is now testing a web version of Direct messages

Insta-chat addicts, rejoice. You could soon be trading memes and emojis from your computer. Instagram is internally testing a web version of Instagram Direct messaging that lets people chat without the app. If, or more likely, when this rolls out publicly, users on a desktop or laptop PC or Mac, a non-Android or iPhone or […]

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Instagram launches walkie-talkie voice messaging

You’d think Facebook would be faster at copying itself. Five years after Facebook Messenger took a cue from WhatsApp and Voxer to launch voice messaging, and four months after TechCrunch reported Instagram was testing its own walkie talkie feature, voice messaging is rolling out globally on Instagram Direct today. Users can hold down the microphone […]

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WhatsApp could wreck Snapchat again by copying ephemeral messaging

WhatsApp already ruined Snapchat’s growth once. WhatsApp Status, its clone of Snapchat Stories, now has 450 million daily active users compared to Snapchat’s 188 million. That’s despite its 24-hour disappearing slideshows missing tons of features including augmented reality selfie masks, animated GIFs, or personalized avatars like Bitmoji. A good enough version of Stories conveniently baked […]

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Instagram now lets you 4-way group video chat as you browse

Instagram’s latest assault on Snapchat, FaceTime and Houseparty launches today. TechCrunch scooped back in March that Instagram would launch video calling, and the feature was officially announced at F8 in May. Now it’s actually rolling out to everyone on iOS and Android, allowing up to four friends to group video call together through Instagram Direct. With […]

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Here’s how an inventive programmer uncovered Instagram’s Pride Month features

Snapchat’s continuing implosion is Instagram’s gain.
As more users flock to Instagram, primarily to share Stories, the Facebook-owned company is testing a long list of new features that’ll further accelerate growth and leave Snapchat in its dust.
SEE…

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Now you can make reservations and buy movie tickets on Instagram

Instagram is unveiling new features for businesses that want to use their profiles to message with customers and even facilitate transactions. Even if you’re not a business on Instagram, you might still notice the addition of action buttons, which will allow you to make a reservation, buy a ticket, start an order or make a […]

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Instagram code reveals unreleased voice and video calling

 Instagram wants to be your phone, not just your camera. And it wants to be better at it than Snapchat. Files buried in Instagram and the Instagram Direct standalone app’s Android Application Packages (APKs) are files and icons for “Call” and “Video Call”. APKs often show files for unreleased features that are lying dormant in an app waiting to be surfaced when… Read More

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Instagram Direct one-ups Snapchat with replay privacy controls

 Messaging is the heart of Snapchat, so after cloning and augmenting Stories, Instagram is hoping to boost intimate usage of Direct with privacy controls not found elsewhere. Now when you send an ephemeral photo or video from the Instagram Direct camera, you can decide whether recipients can only view it once, replay it temporarily, or will see a permanent thumbnail of it in the chat… Read More

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Instagram won’t comment on rumored video calling feature

 Instagram copied the ‘Snap’ and now it might be going after the ‘chat’. A video calling feature was spotted in a non-public version of Instagram by WhatsApp industry blog WABetaInfo. It would let users who’ve begun an Instagram Direct message thread to video chat with each other. That could let people spend even more time in the app, but by actively… Read More

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Splitting Instagram Direct into its own messaging app might be a big mistake

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A popular app is splitting one of its fastest growing features into its own app.
Facebook made this exact type of decision when it broke out direct messaging into the Messenger app two years ago. This time, In…

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Instagram is testing a standalone app for direct messaging

 Instagram has changed a lot since its acquisition by Facebook in 2012.
The original premise was so simple. Beautify your photo and share it to your friends in a couple clicks. Like your friends photos with a simple scroll and a double-tap.
Now, Instagram has videos and gifs (Boomerang). It has its own set of superstars and an algorithmic feed that helps those superstars dominate users’… Read More

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