Instagram recently announced an update that brings new face filters to the app similar to what its rival, Snapchat offers.
The eight augmented reality face features include different crowns that make you look like a rabbit or a koala, twitching animal ears and a filter that sends math equations spinning around your head. If you are also using Snapchat, you might have seen and used these face filters earlier. There have been several instances in the past when Instagram has cloned Snapchat’s popular features like disappearing direct messages, slideshow sharing format, overlaid creative tools and others. Aping arch rival’s popular features is not new and the industry experts say this is how tech industry works. By making these face filters available; Instagram has slowed down Snapchat’s growth rate.
The Instagram face filters will work whether you are using your front camera or back camera. To find these face filters, tap on your camera interface and find the new icon in the bottom right-hand corner. You can use these face filters in different camera modes including a photo, video, and Boomerang. To use the new face filters, you need to download the 10.21 Instagram app update from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Instagram has not stopped at just aping Snapchat’s face filters. The new update also adds a new feature where you can play the video backwards with the camera. The new ‘Rewind’ option sits beside the Boomerang option in the video that will play any footage captured by the camera in reverse. Instagram users can also link hashtag stickers to their images to customize the content they post in their story. Lastly, Instagram has also added a new eraser brush drawing tool that enables you to scribble letters from solid colors to reveal the photo beneath it.
Though a copied feature, the new face filters are expected to be a hit with Instagram users. Last month, Instagram announced it has around 200 million active users using their Stories features which is more than Snapchat’s daily active user base. The company’s spokesperson said the new augmented reality filters are in line with Facebook’s larger vision for augmented reality which was laid out at the F8 conference. Instagram Head of Product, Kevin Wein tweeted, Instagram face filters are different than Snapchat Selfie Lenses and the company plans to unveil several new features like location-specific stickers to help user follow Stories on Instagram.
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