Snapchat stories get GIF support to compete with Instagram’s

We have seen Facebook-owned Instagram borrow many features from Snapchat in the past. Now, to our surprise, the situation appears to be exact opposite this time around. Folks at Snapchat have just integrated GIF stickers powered by Giphy to their iOS and Android app. The move comes in less than a month after Instagram added Giphy-powered GIFs to their stories.

These GIF stickers will show up upon Snapchat users search for them. They will provide a more comprehensive selection of customisations for stories, in addition to the existing Snapchat Stickers.

To use these new GIFs in stories, Snapchat for Android and iOS users first need to update the app from their respective app stores. Once they have updated their app, they can take add new GIF stickers from Giphy library to their picture or videos stories, which is similar to existing Snapchat stickers and then, of course, hit publish.

This new update also brings new tabs in both the Discover and Friends sections. With the help of them, users can find just the Stories they want to watch. In the Friends section, however, users will be able to locate their friends with active Stories.

Also Read: Google joins the Stories bandwagon, just not the same way as Snapchat or Instagram

In other news, Snapchat has officially responded to a Change.org petition that demands to curb the on-going redesign. In response, Snapchat said the redesign is being implemented so that they can approach a much wider audience and Snapchat has no plans to undo their action.