Instagram Adds Mentions, Links, And Boomerang Tool To Stories Feature

Well, well, well, what do we have here? A photo-sharing app adding features that Snapchat doesn’t have? Yes, that’s actually happening: Instagram is updating its Stories feature to allow users to tag their friends, add links, and apply its Boomerang effect to photos.

As of today, users will be able to take a Boomerang photo from inside Instagram, the company announced in a blog post. Users simply swipe right on their feed to open the stories camera. A new format picker under the record button allows users to select “Boomerang” mode, which will stitch together a burst of photos in a short video that plays forward and backward. And forward and backward. And forward and backward. You get it.

It’s worth noting that currently, Instagram users can’t create Boomerangs for their regular feed unless they have a separate app installed.

boomerang

Just like you can tag friends in photos now, you can let others know who’s cool enough to be spending time with you the same way you tag friends now: when adding text to the story, type “@“ followed by a username and choose the friend to mention. That username will then appear underlined in the story, and will lead back to that person’s profile.

mentionstogether

Instagram is also testing a “See More” links feature in certain stories, starting with verified accounts. For example, if your favorite pizza restaurant has a photo of an ooey, gooey pie steaming hot and fresh out of the kitchen, clicking “See Moer” at the bottom of the story could bring you directly to the restaurant’s site. You can also swipe up to view the link from inside Instagram.

instalinks

The updates are available for iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices.

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