Instagram has rolled out two new features that will allow your Stories to live on long past the 24-hour mark.
A new update will add Stories Highlights and Stories Archive to the app, to automatically save stories once they ‘expire’ and give users the option to resurrect them in a new section.
The change is designed to help you ‘hold on to your favourite moments,’ according to
Instagram, and is available today for iOS and Android.
After your Story has been live for 24 hours, it will be saved to the new Archive section, the firm says.
This will appear as a small clock icon at the top right corner of your profile.
By tapping the new icon, users can access both archived Stories and posts.
Just tap any story in the archive to watch it – or, add it to your story again, share it as a post, or add it to a highlight.
‘In your Stories Archive, your stories will appear in a grid with the most recent stories at the bottom,’ according to Instagram.
‘The first story from each day will show a date indicator to help you navigate your archive as you scroll.’
Highlights will also appear in a new section.
This feature will be situated just beneath your bio, according to Instagram.
Unlike a traditional Story, highlights will remain on your profile until you remove them.
‘To create a highlight, tap the “New” circle at the far left,’ the firm explains.
‘From there, you can choose any stories from your archive, select a cover for your highlight and give it a name.
‘Once you’re done, your highlight will appear as a circle on your profile that plays as a stand-alone story when someone taps it.’
Highlights can be edited or removed at any time; to do this, tap and hold the highlight you with to edit.
Last week, Instagram released another new update, which
allows users to edit pictures that their friends send them through direct messaging.
Once a friend sends you a photo, you can send them a picture back and the picture they sent to you will be included with the photo you reply with.
You can edit, re-size, move and add stickers to the pair of photos before sending them back.
To use the new feature, you must receive a photo via a direct message from a friend.
Then, select the camera icon on the bottom right of that message to respond.
This will prompt you to take a photo, which will be included in the message along with the photo you received.
Instagram is working on several other new features, and
reportedly inviting people to test the beta version of its Android and iOS apps.
The firm is testing a regram button that would allow user's to share each others' posts, according to a screenshot obtained by
The Next Web.
Currently, when users want to share each someone's post, they have to either save the image and post it on via their own Instagram account, or use apps designed for this purpose, such as Regram.
Video obtained by The Next Web also reveals that Instagram may be testing a GIF feature that lets users search for and place GIFs in their stories and posts, sourcing the GIF's via Giphy.
And earlier in the year, Instagram reportedly tested a favorite-friends feature which allows you to share content with a select group of friends.