Upgrades To The Gram

Instagram might be getting a new feature that its big brother Facebook has had for a while now: a share button. The Next Web has uncovered some new Instagram features that are being beta tested, including a Regram button, an option to add GIFs to stories, and the option of saving Stories.

With the new “regram” option, when your regular Stories expire after 24 hours, they will be automatically archived rather than deleted. Stories are small video clips that stick around for 24 hours and then disappear to the aether. With the latest update though, you can store those memories forever. The first new Stories feature is called Highlights. Instagram says, “Stories Highlights will enable more customization and self-expression on profiles than ever before – whether sharing the best moments with your dog, your recent family vacation, or a collection of your silliest selfies.” The basics of what this allows you to do is take Stories that you’ve shared and group them into a featured post right on the top of your profile page. Additionally, you will be able to add GIF’s to stories to enhance them.

A lot of these features are already available on Instagram’s competition, Snapchat. Instagram is also considering adding the ability to share posts with only a specific group of friends and not all followers, which is Snapchat’s most unique feature. Additionally, while Instagram already has an Android beta app, it looks like it might be offering an iOS beta app as well, so select iPhone users would be able try out upcoming versions of the app ahead of time and provide feedback.