You Can Now Add Stickers to Instagram Posts
Instagram is adding more editing tools to its photo and video-sharing app on Tuesday, following the slew of updates it's released over the past several weeks. Users will now be able to add stickers to their Instagram Stories that provide context about when and where the image or video was taken, similar to the stickers available in Snapchat. To access these stickers, tap the smiley face icon in the top right corner of the camera screen within the Instagram app. From there, you'll be able to select a sticker that shows the current weather, time or location, and choose a specific style. Instagram is also offering holiday-themed stickers for a limited time, such as a Christmas tree, a dreidel or a gingerbread man. The update will also bring a few other new tools, including the ability to add and align multiple text fields over a photo or video. While it was already possible to add text to Instagram posts, the update gives users more control, enabling them to use a slider to adjust the size in addition to adding more lines of text. Users will also be able to record a video by tapping the screen rather than pressing and holding the screen. Instagram's new sticker collection is one of several new Snapchat-like features to arrive on the platform in recent weeks. In November, the company introduced the capability to send disappearing photos and videos as private messages within the app. Before that, Instagram rolled out Stories, which let's users string photos and videos together into one narrative post, just like Snapchat's function of the same name. Other newly added Instagram features include an option for bookmarking posts from other users, turning off comments and removing followers from private accounts. Instagram's latest update also comes as stickers are becoming increasingly popular among communication services as well, especially those from Apple and Google. Both companies added sticker collections to its respective messaging apps, iMessage and Allo, earlier this year, looking to replicate the success apps like LINE have experienced.