Instagram has added a new feature called remix photos to make direct messaging your friends more engaging. The good news is, it’s not a clone of a Snapchat feature however, you can see that Instagram wants users to engage over DM more actively and that is kind of a Snapchat thing. Remix photos on Instagram lets you react to photos that you friends send you privately. You can snap a photo of yourself and send it back. The photo has the usual editing tools; text, stickers, and a free-hand drawing tool.
Open Instagram and tap the paper plane button at the top right to go to your direct messages. Select a conversation thread and tap the reply button next to an image or video that your friend sent you.
You will switch over to the camera view where you can capture a photo and send it as a reply to the message.
Your reply will feature the image that you’re replying to. You can drag it around and reposition it anywhere on your own photo. The photo capture modes include boomerang and superzoom. If you tap the photo or video, it will take up the top half of your photo.
Once you capture the photo, you can draw on it, add stickers, and add text. When you send the reply, you have the option to allow you friend to reply to the photo the same way you did. Alternatively, you can limit your friend so that they can only view your reply once. You have the option to capture a live photo or select a photo from your camera roll provided you took it/saved it in the last 24 hours.
The remix options seem to differ somewhat if you use them to reply to a photo sent as a private Instagram story. The remix photo option is only available when you reply to a photo or video that was sent to you as a direct message.
It’s odd that Instagram calls this ‘remixing photos’ when it’s more of a reaction to what you’re looking at. It does seem like Instagram wants its users to engage more over private chat and this time it’s sticking to what it does best; photos. The only question is, will this work? Instagram isn’t built on gorgeous photos that have been shared privately. The stunning photos and the mildly good ones are public so what good will private photos do for the app is a question mark at best. Perhaps this is just a way to pull users away from Snapchat.
