Teagan Harbridge - Instagram launched ‘Face Filters’ this week, in another attempt to become the number one visual communication platform of choice, by users of all ages.
The launch of the new feature, saw a set of eight filters, that let’s be honest, work exactly the same as Snapchat. From Koala ears to the all-popular flower crown (hmmmm…. we’ve seen this somewhere before?) – these new effects seem to be another step towards Instagram and Facebook owner, Mark Zuckerberg’s plan for AR, VR & AI domination.
But this wasn’t the only feature announcement by Instagram this week, announcing a new range of creative tools in the app camera.
As well as the new ‘Face Filters’, the Instagram camera allows users to reverse videos with the new ‘Rewind’ feature as well as a ‘Hashtag’ sticker that when tapped on, redirects users to the hashtag page for users to explore related posts.
The app has also launched a new eraser brush tool, encouraging users to cover entire images, and use the tool to reveal select parts of the photograph.
With over 700 million active monthly users, and 200 million users using the Instagram Stories feature everyday, this news comes as another heavy blow to Snapchat, as Instagram announces;
“Instagram has always been the place you can go to turn regular moments into something you can’t wait to share. Now, you have more fun and easy ways to express yourself and connect with the people you care about most” – Instagram.
