Instagram has announced a new feature of its application called Instagram Direct that allows you to share photos privately, to send them to a friend or a small group of people, without the need to publish them in the general flow for all followers. We have already seen how on Instagram you can make videos with cinema filters in a similar way to what you can do with Vine.
Now, with this new feature of photos shared privately, it is worth comparing Instagram with the most famous and most used private photo and video sending app, which I had never talked about in this blog yet: Snapchat .
SnapChat is the application that allows you to send photos that can be viewed only once and that are automatically deleted .
In a recent update SnapChat has become more similar to Instagram because it has added the function of sharing groups of photos and videos in a mounted sequence visible for 24 hours an unlimited number of times.
READ ALSO: How many things Snapchat does, App of photos, selfies, chats, stories and live videos
For those unfamiliar with these two applications, we now see a parallel between Instagram and Snapchat that helps us understand the differences, the meaning and also the reasons for the success of these apps.
1) With these two apps you can take photos .
Both applications have the camera function, with circular buttons that serve to shoot.
In Instagram you can also upload photos from the general gallery of the smartphone, outside the app while in Snapchat you can't.
2) Shoot a video
Also in this the two apps are almost identical and allow you to record a video by holding the record button for the entire duration as it also happens on Vine.
Snapchat allows you to shoot videos for 10 seconds while on Instagram it is 15 seconds.
Instagram allows you to upload videos already recorded with other apps online while Snapchat does not.
3) Filters and designs
Instagram has filters to make photos and videos more special and to improve their light and exposure.
Snapchat does not have filters, but allows you to add draw or write on the photos and videos sent.
The stroke of the design can have different colors of your choice.
4) Timer
A single feature of Snapchat is the Timer which is then the distinctive feature of this photo.
Those who send a photo with snapchat in fact can choose how long the image or video can be visible to those who watch it .
The timer can be a period of time between 1 and 10 seconds.
As mentioned above, if you want to share a photo or video publicly with all their friends without using a timer you can use the Snapchat Story function making it visible an unlimited number of times for a period of 24 hours.
5) Adding text messages
In addition to writing words or symbols using the drawing tool, in Snapchat you can also write a message attached to the photo or video.
In Instagram you can add a message by writing a comment to the photo, at the bottom of the image.
6) Sending an image / video
Both applications allow users to send images and videos directly to other users.
On Instagram this is a new function and sending has a limit of 15 people on group messages, while Snapchat does not have this type of limit.
However, it should always be remembered that the photo or video sent with Snapchat disappears after it is viewed, therefore prolonged conversations are not possible.
7) Reception of an image
Both applications have a sort of mailbox where you can receive pictures and videos from friends.
On Instagram, this mailbox is separate from the traditional flow of content shared by the people followed.
8) Comment on an image or video
In Instagram you can comment on photos and videos shared with a group of people or even images shared publicly in the stream, creating a discussion.
Photos sent with Snapchat cannot be commented from within the application.
It goes without saying that the function of appreciating an image or video with a "Like" is only from Instagram which, by the way, can be linked to Facebook.
9) The "Stream" content flow
Both Instagram and Snapchat can be opened regardless of whether you receive a message.
On Instagram there is a continuous flow that shows all the images and videos shared by the users followed while in Snapchat you can use the new Story feature.
10) Saving photos and videos
If you take a photo using Snapchat and want to keep it before sending it, you can touch the download icon in the lower left corner after taking it.
On Instagram, however, the photos taken within the app are automatically saved in the photo gallery of the device.
11) Block or report users
Both applications allow you to block annoying users or those who share inappropriate images or videos.
In conclusion, the two applications therefore now have many similarities, with the difference that Snapchat is an app for those who do not want to keep memories, but only want to share moments, while Instagram becomes more a way of storing photos and videos as a social network branch of Facebook.
these are different apps with similar traits, which however have different purposes and just think of the use that can be done of Snapchat to understand its success, especially for the younger ones (Facebook wanted to buy Snapchat for 3 billion dollars; offer refused ).
Snapchat can be downloaded as an application for Android and iPhone mobiles while Instagram is also available for Windows Phone.
