Instagram launches Layout, its own photo collage app

Instagram has launched a standalone app that allows users to combine multiple photos into a single image, dubbed Layout. Instagram described the app as fun, simple and it offers a new way for users to flex their creativity, allowing users to remix up to nine photos at a time.

“From imagining mirrored landscapes to sharing multiple moments from an entire adventure, we’ve seen these kinds of visual storytelling happening on Instagram and we’re inspired by it. With Layout, it’s easier than ever to unlock your creativity — and we can’t wait to see what you’ll make next,” the company said in a statement.

For Layout to work users must give it access to their phone’s camera roll to allow it to create a layout using photos that are already on the phone.

To make using the app easier to use, Instagram has come up with a way to help users find the photos you want without any problems. In the app is a Faces option that shows users all the photos in their camera roll that feature people.

When laying out the multiple photos, users can drag and drop photos to rearrange them, pinch to zoom or pull the sides of each photo to adjust its size and get your layout right. Users can also edit their layout when sharing it on Instagram with the Instagram’s custom filters.

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Instagram adds that, after completing this functions, one can “then flip and rotate your photos to create cool arrangements and mirror effects.”

The app also comes with Photo Booth, which Instagram explains is for spontaneous moments, and allows people to start a countdown and capture photos that they will instantly see in a layout.

The good news about Layout, and perhaps even justifies it being a standalone app, is that one does not need an Instagram to use it. The layouts can be saved and shared on any other network.

The app, though clean and simple, offers nothing new, one can without difficulty find a plethora of photo collage apps on iOS and Google Play. Its introduction, on Instagram’s part mirrors Facebook’s strategy of releasing different apps to keep user circling in its ecosystem.

Layout from Instagram is available today on the Apple App Store. It will be available for Android in the coming months.