Instagram has recently introduced a set of new features on the platform. Out of those, Candid Stories is a new way of posting stories on Instagram. Let’s see what the Candid Stories are on Instagram, how they work, and how to use them.
The newly announced features on Instagram include Notes, Group Profiles, Collaborative Collections, and others. However, only Notes is launching while the rest of the features will be undergoing testing for the time being.
Previously, we were the first to introduce you to Instagram’s Candid Stories when a pilot was launched for the feature. Now, the Meta-owned platform is expanding the test and also planning to integrate it with Facebook Stories.
What is the Candid Stories Feature on Instagram?
The Candid Stories feature on Instagram is a new way of sharing stories that will only be visible to users who also post the same kind of stories. Basically, the feature is pretty similar to how BeReal, the viral social media app of 2022, works.
Just like BeReal, Instagram users will have to capture and post real-time updates on Candid Stories. The key difference between regular stories and Candid Stories will be that the latter is only visible to the users who also share their own Candid Stories.
Instagram users can post Candid Stories from the Stories camera, the multi-author story at the top of the feed, or from the daily notification reminder that begins after you start participating in the feature. However, you can always turn the notification off from Settings.
How does the Candid Stories feature work?
The Candid Stories feature on Instagram works in the same manner as BeReal works. For context, BeReal is popularly known as an Instagram alternative where users are made to accept reality by sharing their unedited, unfiltered, and candid pictures.
The Candid Stories feature is developed for the same purpose. It will ask users to post their candid pictures and it will only be visible to the users who are also posting their own candid images. The ones who don’t post candid pictures won’t be able to see your candids.
How to use the Candid Stories Feature on Instagram?
Instagram is yet to make the Candid Stories feature available for everyone. It’s only available in a limited number of regions and only to a very limited batch of users as of this writing.
However, if you have got the feature, follow these steps to use it:
- Launch the Instagram app.
- Now tap on the Stories Camera.
- Next, click a picture from the front and one from the rear camera.
- Finally, post it as your Candid Story for the day.
Remember that you have to post your candid pictures using this feature and you won’t be allowed to apply filters or edit them before posting. From the second day onwards, you will receive a notification to post your Candid Story.
Just tap on the notification and you will be able to share it more conveniently.
When will Candid Stories become available for everyone?
Instagram has not given a timeline for when the Candid Stories feature will roll out for everyone. For now, only “Notes” is launching for everyone which allows users to post text-based status updates on the app.
One Launch 📝 + Four Tests 👨🔬
What we’re launching:
– NotesWhat we’re testing:
– Add Yours: Nominations
– Candid Stories
– Group Profiles
– Collaborative Collections pic.twitter.com/4Ob52pqWZ1— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) December 14, 2022
The rest of the newly introduced features including Candid Stories are undergoing testing. They will likely be available for everyone within a couple of months if everything goes fine. We’ll keep you posted about it.
Just make sure that you are always using the latest version of the Instagram app. This will help you to be the first to get the latest features.
Instagram Notes are Now Available for Everyone
Along with beginning testing of Candid Stories, Instagram has rolled out the much-awaited “Notes” feature for everyone. We have already explained how the feature works and how can you use it in a separate post previously.
Notes on Instagram allow users to share short text-based posts of up to 60 characters where they can also use emojis. To use the feature, go to the top of your inbox, type a note, and choose the people you want to share the note with.
The note will then start appearing at the top of their inbox for the next 24 hours. If someone responds to your Note, the replies will be sent to you as direct messages in your inbox.
When Instagram first launched Notes, it was only available to a limited number of users. But now, Adam Mosseri himself confirmed that it is launching for all users.
Instagram Starts Testing Group Profiles, Collaborative Collections, and More
The meta-owned social media platform is also introducing a set of new features apart from Notes and Candid Stories. Instagram has also started testing for Group Profiles, Collaborative Collections, and Add Yours: Nominations.
Let’s have a look at what these features are and how they work.
Group Profiles
These profiles allow users to create or join a new type of profile which is dedicated to sharing posts and stories with a specific set of friends. When a post or story is shared to Group Profile, it will only be visible to the group members who are a part of the profile.
To create a Group Profile on Instagram, tap the “+” icon and choose Group Profiles. After that, add members and start sharing content.
Collaborative Collections
This feature will allow Instagram users to connect with friends over shared interests by saving posts to a collaborative collection in a group or one-on-one DMs. Users with similar tastes can utilize this feature to make a collection of their favorite posts together.
You can start Collaborative Collections by saving a post from the feed or sharing it with a friend via DM and then saving it from there.
Add Yours: Nomination
The Add Yours: Nomination feature will allow users to invite friends to participate in prompts by tapping “Pass it on” when they see a prompt that reminds you of them. This will expand more unplanned and creative sharing on the platform.
The feature is built on the foot of the Add Yours feature introduced to Instagram Stories last year. Now Meta is expanding it to prompts on the platform.
Instagram continues to add more features to the platform amidst accusations of stealing and copying features from others. Candid Stories seem to be taken directly from BeReal’s increasing hype but it’ll be interesting to see how differently will Instagram implement it.
What are your thoughts?
