Instagram Stories now support photo and video replies as part of the latest update to the application. With the new reply feature, it’ll be even easier for users to engage with other users and present them with a more interactive way to communicate with people they follow when watching the stories they post. Photo and video replies aren’t available on all Instagram Stories but this only seems to apply to stories that don’t allow comments. For all the others, a new camera button is visible just to the left of the comment bar and tapping this will bring up all your available options.
Instagram is allowing the use of any tools that are available within the app’s camera, so this means you can add standard, normal photos to a story reply, and you can also add standard videos. You can jazz things up a bit if you prefer using the Boomerang and Rewind camera options though as well, and face filters and stickers are also available to add to your replies if you really want to make things more lively and fun.
If all of that wasn’t enough when you reply to a story with a photo or video of your own you’ll get to see a thumbnail image of the story you’re replying to placed in the top right corner. This thumbnail can be moved around the screen and placed wherever the user sees fit, and if it’s simply too big or too small Instagram has made it possible to resize this thumbnail to fit exactly where you want it on screen. Anytime you send a photo or video reply to a story the person that story belongs to will be notified that a reply is available to view, and the same goes for when people send replies to your own stories as well. The update should already be live for most or all users as Instagram states the update has been pushed out to Google Play, but if you’re not seeing the feature capability yet give it some time. Replying to stories with photos and videos is Instagram’s latest effort to increase the value of the app for users, as well as make using Instagram Stories more fun.
