Instagram Stories removes 24 hour content upload restriction

Instagram is stepping away from the identity around which they cultivated Instagram Stories by extending the previous 24 hour content upload restriction, and turning it into an indefinite limit.

This makes Instagram Stories - an Instagram clone with Snapchat’s ephemeral features, which one could say it already was. Images and videos from any given point in the past can be added to Instagram Stories and do not have to adhere to the 24hour content upload restriction but they will disappear after 24 hours.

You can upload images older than 24 hours as you usually would, by swiping up from the Instagram camera. Now, you can choose any images from your Camera Roll and share it with all your Instagram followers.

“If you choose a photo or video that’s more than 24 hours old, you’ll automatically see a new sticker that helps you add context for when it was taken. As with all stickers, you can rotate, resize or remove the date sticker from your story before you share.”

Snapchat too allows users to add older images, choosing to occupy the borders of it with a white frame that helps users understand that the image wasn’t clicked in the present.

Daniel Etherington from TechCrunch writes, “This probably reflects a change in the way users view Stories – it’s less about the ‘now’-ness of the media, I’d argue, and more about users wanting a way to share that’s less permanent and more casual than the main feed. Younger users were already frequently posting and then deleting posts in the main feed, according to multiple usage studies, so shifting direction to encourage Stories as the main place to do that kind of thing is a smart move.”

Instagram continues to thrive, while the wounds it inflicted on Snapchat over a year ago, continue to fester and eat away Snapchat’s dreams of rising up as the underdog.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 22 for iOS and version 18 on Android.