Instagram Stories has quickly gained popularity over pioneer Snapchat, and it seems the platform is getting comfortable in the lead.
Yesterday, Instagram announced three new features never seen on the other ephemeral photo app, perhaps proving that while it needed help with the foundation, the finishing touches are more up its alley.
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The biggest change comes in the form of polls, which can now be added to any user’s Story.
Introducing an interactive poll sticker in Instagram Stories. What will you ask your friends? https://t.co/XvkDD0l9aH pic.twitter.com/5Tbg5ozKP7
— Instagram (@instagram) October 3, 2017
The poll is essentially a fancy sticker. Just like adding a location or hashtag, a user can click on the sticker, type in a question and provide their followers with two options to click.
Anyone who votes on the poll will see which option is currently in the lead, while the original poster can swipe up on their Story to see exactly who voted for what.
The poll disappears with the Story after 24 hours.
While this may be a great feature for the Insta-obsessed, it also seems like a tool to be overused by businesses trying to push user engagement.
Other features announced include a colour picker — which allows users to tap on their image to pick a colour and use it to type or draw — and a seemingly useless alignment tool which lets you place stickers in a straight line.
All features are available on iOS, and only the poll and eyedropper tools are on Android.
