Instagram adds “Notes” feature, challenges BeReal app with “Candid Stories”

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Two new features of Instagram, called “Notes” and “Group Profiles”, are shown in the images provided. (Credit: Meta/Instagram)

Instagram has announced a new set of features, including a new way to share your thoughts called “Notes” and a feature called “Candid Stories” that looks similar to nascent social media app BeReal.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook that also owns Instagram, announced the changes in a blog post on Tuesday.

The company said it was starting to roll out Notes, which are short posts of up to 60 characters using only text and emojis that appear at the top of a user’s inbox. The feature was quickly compared to AIM away messages and Facebook statuses of the past by many online.

To add a note, Instagram users need to go to the top of their inbox, select followers they follow or in the “Close Friends” list, and the note will appear at the top of their inbox for 24 hours, he said the society.

The “Notes” feature is shown in an image provided. (Credit: Meta/Instagram)

Replies to notes arrive as direct messages in a user’s inbox.

“During testing, we learned that people like to have a simple, light-hearted way to share what’s on their minds and start conversations,” Meta said. “From asking for advice to sharing what they’re doing, Notes gives people a casual, spontaneous way to express themselves and connect with each other.”

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Another update rolling out is called “Candid Stories,” which Meta said Instagram was starting to test. A candid can be captured by the stories camera, the multi-author story at the top of the feed, or a daily notification reminder that starts after your first candid.

Candid Stories example is shown in a provided image. (Credit: Meta/Instagram)

The ability to share candid and less curated photos, as well as a daily reminder notification to do so, mirrors much of what the BeReal app does. The camera takes a photo from the front and rear cameras of a smartphone, switching between them in seconds.

The app, which encourages users to upload raw photos, has grown in popularity this year. As of August, the app had been downloaded more than 43 million times, according to FOX News, citing app intelligence firm Apptopia.

BeReal: About the brand new social media app

The BeReal social media platform is advertised as a genuine way to share daily life with friends. (Credit: FOX News)

For its part, Meta said Instagram users who don’t want to receive Candid Stories’ daily notification reminder can always turn it off in settings. The company said it’s also testing a similar feature on Facebook Stories.

A third item that Instagram debuted this week is an update to the “Add Your Own” feature in Stories. The app is testing a new update where users can invite friends to join by tapping “cast it” when they see a message.

“Since we launched Add Yours to Stories last year, we’ve seen how suggestions help inspire people to share in unplanned and creative ways,” said Meta.

Finally, Instagram is testing new features “to give people more ways to collaborate and connect with friends in groups.” Soon, people will be able to create and join something called “Group Profiles,” where they can share posts and stories in a profile that’s dedicated and shared with friends, the company said.

“Anytime you share content on a group profile, that content will only be shared with group members instead of your followers, and it will be posted to the group profile instead of yours,” Meta explained.

An example of “Group Profiles” is depicted in a provided image. (Credit: Meta/Instagram)

To create a new group profile, users can tap the + and select “Group Profiles”.

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This story was reported from Cincinnati.

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