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Introducing Face Filters and More on Instagram

Today, we’re introducing face filters in the camera, an easy way to turn an ordinary selfie into something fun and entertaining. Whether you’re sitting on the couch at home or you’re out and about, you can use face filters to express yourself and have playful conversations with friends.

From math equations swirling around your head to furry koala ears that move and twitch, you can transform into a variety of characters that make you smile or laugh. To see our initial set of eight face filters, simply open the camera and tap the new face icon in the bottom right corner.


Tap a filter to try it on, and keep an eye out for ones that work with a friend. Take a photo or video using the front- or back-facing camera — they even work with Boomerang, so you can easily add an unexpected twist to what you share! When you’re done recording, you can send it to your best friends through Instagram Direct or add it to your story.


And More

Also today, we’re rolling out more creative tools in the camera.

You can make videos that play in reverse with “Rewind,” a new camera format next to “Boomerang” and “Hands-Free.” Drop a microphone and watch it fly up into your hand. Capture a fountain in motion and share a rewind of the water floating back up. Experiment with some magic tricks of your own and defy the laws of physics wherever you are.


You can also add more context to your story with a new hashtag sticker. Just tap the sticker icon at the top right of your screen, select and customize the hashtag, then add it to your story. As with mentions, you can also add hashtags using regular text. People watching your story will be able to tap the hashtag sticker or text to visit the hashtag page and explore related posts.


Lastly, you’ll see a new eraser brush when using drawing tools. You can erase other things you’ve drawn and play around with removing color. After you’ve taken a photo or video, select a drawing tool and tap and hold to fill the entire screen with color. Then, using the eraser brush, you can creatively reveal parts of your photo or video underneath.


From the very first photo filter to Boomerang and more, 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.

To learn more about today’s updates, check out the Instagram Help Center.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 10.21 for iOS in the Apple App Store and for Android in Google Play.

New Stickers and More: Fun Ways to Be Creative in Stories and Direct

Today, we’re introducing new sticker tools that help you be even more creative, whether you’re sharing to your story or having conversations with your friends in Direct.

Over 200 million people now use Instagram Stories every day to keep up with friends and accounts they love. And with recent updates to Direct, it’s never been easier to have playful, visual conversations with close friends.

Now, with these new sticker tools, you have even more ways to turn your most casual, everyday moments into something fun to share.

Selfie Sticker and Pinning

Turn your selfie into a sticker so you can quickly share your reaction or trade faces with someone (or something) in your story. When you take a photo or video and tap the smiley face, you’ll see a new sticker with a camera icon that lets you capture a mini-selfie. Before or after capturing, tap to apply different frame styles: fade or circle. Put your selfie sticker anywhere, adjust the size and use as many other creative tools as you want.

You can also take your selfie sticker to the next level by pinning it to a specific spot in your video. Just tap and hold the sticker, move it over any object and confirm by tapping “Pin.” Pinning works with any sticker and text, and it’s extra fun with Boomerang and hands-free video. You can even pin multiple things in the same video.

Geostickers in Four New Cities

If you live in or are traveling to Chicago, London, Madrid or Tokyo, you’ll also start seeing geostickers for your city over the coming days. All of the geostickers have been designed by local community members to help bring the cities they call home to life. You’ll be able to see the artist’s username when you tap the sticker, so you can learn more about their unique artwork.

And More!

We’re rolling out a shortcut to your favorite stickers. After tapping the smiley face, simply swipe right to see your recently used stickers. Also, when you record a video using “Hands-Free” mode, tap and hold the button to see a timer that counts down to when the video begins.

To learn more about today’s updates, check out the Instagram Help Center.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 10.16 for iOS in the Apple App Store and version 10.16.1 for Android in Google Play.

New: Save Your Live Video to Your Phone

Starting today, you’ll have the option to save your live video to your phone at the end of a broadcast. While live videos will continue to disappear from the app when you’re done, this update gives you the flexibility to hold onto your video and re-watch it later, especially if something exciting happens during your broadcast that you want to remember or share.

After your live broadcast ends, tap Save in the upper right corner. You’ll only be able to save your video — not the comments, likes, number of viewers or any live interactions. After saving, tap Done and your live video will be saved to your camera roll but will no longer be available in the app.

We are excited by how our community is using live video to connect with their friends and followers in the moment. This is just the first of many improvements we’ll be making to live videos this year.

To learn more about today’s updates, check out the Instagram Help Center.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 10.12 available for iOS in the Apple App Store and for Android in Google Play.

Live Stories: Available Globally

Today we’re excited to share that live video on Instagram Stories — a new way to connect with your friends and followers right now — will be rolling out to our entire global community over the next week. From real-time makeup tutorials to live DJ sets, it’s been exciting to watch as the community shares new sides of their lives.

To go live, just swipe right from feed and choose Start Live Video in the camera. When you’re done, your live story will disappear from the app. You may also see Top Live on Explore, connecting you to exciting live stories happening now.

To learn more about live video on Instagram Stories, check out the Instagram Help Center.

Live video on Instagram Stories is available for everyone as part of Instagram version 10.0 and above.

New to Instagram Stories: Stickers, Holiday Fun and More

Today, we’re introducing a set of tools to help you add context and creativity to your story: stickers, holiday fun and more. Since last month’s update, we’ve loved seeing how you’ve used Boomerang and mentions to make your stories even more fun. Now you have new ways to turn any moment into something you want to share with your friends and followers.

Stickers

No matter where you are or what you’re up to, you can add context to your story with stickers. After you’ve taken a photo or video, you’ll see a new stickers button next to the text and drawing tools. Tap the smiley face to find customizable stickers for weather, the current time and even your location. Adding a location sticker works the same as adding location to the posts you share to feed — simply choose or search for your location. People watching your story will be able to tap the sticker to learn more about the location, but your story won’t show up on the location page itself.

It’s easy to make stickers your own: move them around, make them bigger or smaller and choose from different styles to match your mood. Subtle stickers let your photo or video shine, whereas vibrant stickers bring an extra pop of color to your story. And you can add as many stickers as you want to any part of your story.

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Holiday Fun

You’ll see a set of holiday stickers available for the next few weeks. A special candy cane brush brings a sweet addition to your drawing tools, and keep an eye out for another set of stickers to ring in the new year!

And More!

A new ‘Hands-Free’ option in the format picker lets you start recording a video with just one tap. Whether you’re playing a guitar solo, building a snowman or perfecting your handstand, there’s no need to press and hold.

You can add as much text to your photo or video as you’d like — simply keep tapping the text button to add more. Choose between left, center and right justified text, and a new slider lets you adjust size easily with automatic text wrap.

Finally, on iOS, you can now save your entire story from the past 24 hours to your camera roll as a single video.

To learn more about today’s updates, check out the Instagram Help Center.

These updates for Instagram Stories are available as part of Instagram version 10.3 available for iOS in the Apple App Store and for Android in Google Play.

New to Instagram Stories: Boomerang, Mentions and Links

Today, we’re introducing a few new tools to help you make your story even more fun: Boomerang and mentions. We’re also starting to test links inside some stories.

Boomerang

Boomerang lets you turn everyday moments into something fun and unexpected. Now you can easily take a Boomerang right inside Instagram.

Swipe right from your feed to open the stories camera. A new format picker under the record button lets you select “Boomerang” mode. Tap record and the camera will stitch together a burst of photos into a mini video that plays forward and backward. Then share it to your story.

Mentions

Share who you’re with or who you’re thinking of by mentioning them in your story.

Mentioning people in stories works the same as it does in captions and comments. When you add text to your story, type “@” followed by a username and select the person you’d like to mention. Their username will appear underlined in your story. And when someone taps the mention, they’ll see a pop-up that takes them to that profile.

You’ll receive a notification in Direct when you’re mentioned in someone else’s story. Just tap the preview to go straight to the story for as long as it’s live. If someone you don’t follow mentions you, you’ll see the notification in your message requests.

‘See More’ Links

Watching someone’s story and want to dig deeper? You may spot “See More” links at the bottom of some stories. This is a test that lets verified accounts add links so it’s easy to learn more. From discovering the latest music by Chance the Rapper (@chancetherapper) to learning about a new movie starring Dwayne Johnson (@therock) or reading a related article from Bustle (@bustle), tap “See More” or swipe up to view the link right inside the app.

To learn more about today’s updates, check out the Instagram Help Center.

These updates for Instagram Stories are available as part of Instagram version 9.7 available for iOS in the Apple App Store, for Android in Google Play and for Windows 10 in the Windows Store.

Introducing Stories on Explore

Starting today, you’ll begin to see Instagram Stories on Explore.

We announced Instagram Stories in August as a new feature for sharing everyday moments. Now, with stories on Explore, it’s easier than ever to discover new stories you’ll want to watch.

More than 100 million people visit Explore every day to discover photos and videos from people they don’t yet follow. The new suggested stories section highlights the most interesting stories from across Instagram’s vast global community — and like the rest of Explore, the stories you’ll see are personalized to your interests.

To learn more about Instagram Stories on Explore, check out the Instagram Help Center.

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The Greatest Moments in Claymation with Azod Abedikichi

Tap on @azxd’s Instagram profile picture to see his Instagram story that goes behind the scenes of his creation process.

Claymation artist Azod Abedikichi (@azxd) has been re-creating the world’s most memorable sporting moments on his Instagram for the past year and a half:

“I’m inspired by a lot of things — big sports moments, specific athletes, music, pop culture, interesting materials, colors, compositions and the imperfections of working in stop-motion, specifically clay. I like to mix iconic sports audio with new visuals to make something that feels classic but new at the same time. The first phase is writing (researching and finding the right audio clips). I’m always writing in my head when I’m watching sports, but I end up making less than half of my ideas. Second is building sets and armatures. Then I animate — most of my animations are 12 photos per second. The process takes anywhere from 20 to 40 hours, which can take a few days or, when I’m channeling my inner Beast Mode, I’ll complete an animation in one long session.”