Instagram has made it possible for users to upload any photo or video from their phones’ camera rolls to their Instagram Stories, regardless of if it was take now, an hour ago, or a week ago.
In August 2016, when Instagram first launched its version of Snapchat’s ephemeral Stories format, people were able to post any photo or video they had taken and saved to their phone’s camera rolls within the last 24 hours. This time based image upload feature has removed that recency requirement (Stories themselves still disappear after 24 hours).Open up Stories to full photo and video libraries should make it easier for users to fill up their Stories but, at the same time, might make Stores feel less-in-the-moment.
For brands, Instagram’s move allows for more pre-produced Story posts without any obvious drawbacks, such as with Snapchat.
In July 2016, Snapchat also allowed people to upload photos and videos from their camera rolls to Stories, regardless of when they were created. But, if the photo that was posted from the camera on a previous date, a white boarder was added to the post in order to make the distinction that it was an older photo
But on Instagram, users can make these older posts look like normal posts without viewers even knowing they are older images. When older photo or video is uploaded to a Story on Instagram, the app automatically adds a sticker showing the date on which the photo was originally taken. It’s possible to change the color, size and position of this date like any other sticker. But they can even remove it from the post if they so wish.