This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
December 17, 2019, marked a significant update for Instagram users as the platform introduced its new Layout feature, enabling users to include multiple photos in a single story.
With the Layout feature, users can now choose between two and six photos to combine in a grid-based collage when opening the Stories camera and selecting the Layout option.
This latest update is part of Instagram's efforts to enhance its Stories feature, which has become increasingly important for users. While some of the new changes may mimic features from other social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Tinder, users seem to appreciate the added functionality.
Instagram's Layout feature has made it possible for users to capture and share multiple photos in their story, offering a new and creative way to express themselves.
Before the introduction of Layout, users had to rely on third-party apps to create custom content for Instagram stories, which involved arranging multiple photos together using a template, saving it as one image, and then uploading the image to Instagram.
Now, users can do everything within Instagram itself, rendering some third-party photo editing apps obsolete. In addition to combining multiple photos, users can also add regular story effects on top of the images before posting, including text, stickers, GIFs, filters, and drawings.
Instagram has also added a picture-in-picture mode on IGTV, allowing users to watch videos in a tiny window floating on top of their screen while continuing to scroll through their Instagram timeline and reply to DMs.
