Instagram just ‘borrowed’ more features from Snapchat

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Instagram 2
Look familiar?
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is continuing its competition with Snapchat with its latest update, which lets user remix friends’ photos and then send them back.

To use the feature, when you view a photo message from friends, hit the camera icon at the bottom of the screen and capture a reply. Your reply then contains a sticker of the original message, which you can then move and resize, or add additional stickers, text, and drawings to.

The update also lets you control the number of replays a message can receive, in another Snapchat-style feature. Select “One View” for messages you want your friends to only see once, while everything else can be set to “Allow Replay” so your friends have more time to view your messages.

Photos and videos sent with “Allow Replay” loop automatically, and can be paused by tapping and holding the screen.

The update is currently available in the newly launched Instagram update available for free in the App Store.

Snapchat’s challenges

Instagram’s muscling in on Snapchat’s features may be one of the reasons Snapchat is currently struggling. This month, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel revealed that Snap will be undergoing a major redesign, after the company fell short of expected growth projections for the quarter.

In a letter to investors, Spiegel blamed the difficulties on the service being too difficult for many users to understand. We can’t help but think that it’s the fact that so many of its features are no longer unique to Snapchat that may be hurting it, though.

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