Show Off Your Holiday Spirit with the New Instagram Updates

The latest Instagram update on December 20th, 2017, has new editing tools and features including holiday stickers, hands free video, and unlimited text. Updates to Instagram continue to look very similar to Snapchat. But Instagram has also added helpful functional tools that may be better than Snapchat’s options. This could definitely help Instagram compete with Snapchat. So what’s been added in this update?

Holiday Stickers

The first update is the option to add holiday stickers to your stories. Instagram added a special set of 12 holiday stickers that are available for the next few weeks. They have also added icons that can show your location, time, and current outside temperature, much like how Snapchat uses geofilters.

To use the stickers, tap the icon at the top of the screen after you’ve taken a story photo or video. The list of holiday stickers and location/time/temperature stickers should pop up. After you select the holiday sticker, some of them have options to “tap for more.” If you tap the sticker, it will change to a different sticker of the same subject. For example, if you choose the Christmas sweater sticker and then tap it, you will see a different version of a sweater. This is a far more basic variation of Snapchat’s geofilter tools, but it’s an interesting option nonetheless.

There is one other addition for the season; a candy cane brush so you can decorate your photos with sweet peppermint accents.

     

Hands Free Video

Instagram has also added a new, one-touch, hands-free video mode to their stories, which is something Snapchat doesn’t offer. Previously with Instagram and currently with Snapchat, you had to hold the video button to record videos. 

     

Unlimited Text

In addition to new stickers, and hands free video, Instagram has also removed the limit on text boxes. Up until now, you’ve only been able to add one text box per image, but now, you can place text all over your Stories’ content if you wish.

I encourage you to experiment with these new options and show off your Christmas spirit to your followers!   

Sources: Socialmediatoday.com & Indianexpress.com