Instagram adds new features to Stories format: All you need to know

The Facebook-owned photo sharing platform, Instagram has added a number of new features to make its Stories format more interactive. In a blog post, the company said that these new ways to interact will help the users to form a deeper connection with people they follow on the platform. The new features allow Instagram users to ask music recommendations from their followers and answer questions during a live stream, among others. The update is already available for both Android as well as iOS devices. 

"Starting today, you’ll see new ways to interact with your friends and form a deeper connection with the people you follow on Instagram. You can now use the questions sticker for music recommendations in Stories or to connect in the moment with people you follow on Live. You’ll also see a new interactive sticker in Stories that lets you count down to exciting moments together with your friends," the blog post read. 

Music on Instagram stories:

The users can now respond to question stickers with a song from the music library. The users will also be able to capture a photo or video as the music plays in the back ground.  "You’ll also see new effects in the camera that respond to the beats and sounds of a song. To try the new effects, swipe to “Music” in the camera and you’ll see the new icons above the camera capture button," the company added. The feature has been rolled out in the countries where Instagram's music library is available. 

You can now use the Questions sticker for music recommendations! Learn more here: https://t.co/kHz7Mfc6Tj pic.twitter.com/ZcUgjNA8Fy

— Instagram (@instagram) December 19, 2018

Connecting on Instagram Live:

The users can now use the question sticker even in live videos, making them more interactive. To use the feature, the users need to go to a live video where they will find 'Q&A' in the stories tray.  "If you want to ask more questions while they’re already live, you can go back to their story to ask a question and it’ll appear in their questions list," the post added.

The users will also be able to share share photos and videos from their camera roll to their Live video. 

Countdown on moments:

This feature allows users to add countdown sticker to their stories by selecting it from the sticker tray after taking a photo or video. The users can also add an end date or time and customise the color before sharing it to their story. "Your friends can tap on your countdown to follow or share it to their own story; anyone who follows or shares your countdown will get a notification when the countdown ends," Instagram said. 

The feature is available globally on both Android and iOS platforms.