After only two months, Instagram Stories has over 100 million daily active users. That means more than two thirds of the daily active user population for Snap Inc, previously known as Snapchat, are currently using Instagram Stories.
When Instagram Stories was released many analysts called the new feature a copy of Snapchat stories. The recently added feature is nearly identical to the central feed of Snapchat; a feature that helped launch the company into a multibillion dollar business. The videos are only available for 24 hours from the time of posting and encourages users to post more frequently than traditional social media platforms.
Instagram has more than 500 million daily active users and while the app has been around slightly longer than Snapchat, Instagram’s new feature differs from the traditional features on the social network. Instagram placed a row of avatars at the top of a users’ news feed. Each bubble represents an account that you follow on Instagram or can discover on the social media app. Each bubble contains a photo and/or video clip that a user shared within the past 24 hours. In order for a user to access the Instagram story, all they have to do is tap a bubble and their story will open in full screen. Unlike the newsfeed, there are no hearts in the Instagram stories. But similar to Snapchat, users can reply by sending messages.
This is not the first time Instagram has followed in the footsteps of their competition. Instagram first started off as a place for users to share photos and connect with friends and family. But, after the rise of the Vine app, a social media application that allowed for users to upload six second video clips, Instagram quickly added a new feature allowing users to share 10 second video clips. A week after Instagram added that new feature, Vine video sharing plummeted on the app by 70 percent.
However, it is important to point out that Instagram Stories does not mark the end of Snapchat. Snapchat users have not abandoned the social network for Instagram Stories, which is a good sign for a company that is reportedly on the verge of going public. Snap Inc. is attempting to sell shares of the company as early as late March. Snapchat is working on achieving a $25 billion dollar valuation.