On Aug. 2, Instagram released a new feature that is eerily similar to another teen social media favorite: Snapchat.

Instagram Stories allows users to take photos and post them on their ‘story.’

Photos posted are available for everyone who follows the person to see for the next 24 hours.

Whoever posted the photo at any point can check to see who has seen their photo as well as restrict who cannot see their story.

“It feels weird; everyone can see it,” Ashley Wheeler, senior, said. “It’s kind of like on Facebook or Twitter. Facebook is more for everyone while twitter is used for more private posts.”

After a picture is taken, the photo can be edited in a multitude of ways: adding text, drawing and adding decorative filters.

Snapchat has the same features, except Snapchat has extra filters that can add the time, weather, or even the altitude at the time the photo was taken.

Snapchat is known for its feature that can detect faces and add funny filters such as dog ears and nose or shrink your head.

Also Snapchat has geotags; which use one’s location to give special filters.

For example, if someone is in downtown Kansas City, there is a geotag specific to that location, allowing everyone to see where exactly that person is.

Some companies or channels use Snapchat as a way to advertise, such as “The Food Channel” or The New York Times.

People can subscribe to these specific sessions to get daily content from their favorite sources.

“I have used Instagram Stories once, but post almost every day on Snapchat,” Jackson Mather, junior, said.

However, Instagram Stories cannot be sent to individual people, making them available to anyone that has the Instagram app.

Since Instagram Stories’ debut, the addition had gotten mixed views regarding the point of implementing such a feature, when there’s already an almost identical app.

“I think Instagram Stories was made to compete with Snapchat. I feel like Snapchat has always been better,” Wheeler said.

As well as competing, the other side of the argument is that Instagram was looking to keep people from wanting Snapchat.

With the feature on Instagram, people wouldn’t need to even have Snapchat.

“Everyone kind of laughed about it,” Wheeler said. “People would at first post on their Insta-Stories saying, ‘Add me on Snapchat.’”

The majority of social media users still use Snapchat over Instagram, and some barley even know what Instagram Stories is.

There are less Snapchat accounts than Instagram, but more users also spend more time on Snapchat than Instagram throughout their day.

“I get on Instagram about three times a week, but I’m constantly on Snapchat throughout my day,” Wheeler said.

With its unique design and idea, Snapchat is leading as one of the most used pieces of social media today, according to Business Insider.

“I prefer Snapchat stories because more people use it and it’s more comfortable than Instagram Stories,” Mather said.

Now that Instagram has a similar aspect, time will tell if Instagram Stories popularity will grow, or if it will continue to be a laughing stock to most Snapchat users, and teeny weeny to monstrously tall and expansively wide.

Both Snapchat and Instagram are available for free on the App Store and Google Play.