Technology : Instagram v Snapchat

Somewhere out there, Snapchat billionaire Evan Spiegel is fuming. Instagram has just launched a new feature on the photo-sharing app called Stories, which allows users to bring together photos and videos and turn them into slideshows, which users can further enhance by adding text and doodles. The new feature also sounds a lot like Snapchat’s own Stories.

And Instagram isn’t shy about admitting to the copying either. In an article on TechCrunch that details Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom’s demo of the new feature to tech journalists, Systrom remarked that Snapchat “deserve all the credit” for the format, but went on to argue that “This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”

Instagram’s move is ostensibly to make the platform more palatable for younger users. While Instagram’s 300 million daily users may dwarf Snapchat’s 100 million, March of 2016 saw a 93 percent decrease in growth for Instagram, and a 70 percent decline in engagement. Snapchat, meanwhile, says its users engage with it 25 to 30 minutes daily.

Snapchat’s mostly teenage user base prefer the ephemeral nature of the app, which makes it ideal to hide details of their lives from their parents. Instagram, which was bought by Facebook in 2012, often prompts users to add their friends from Facebook — which usually include their parents.

Are any of you guys on Instagram or Snapchat? What do you think about this new feature? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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