Instagram marks Stories milestone with new features

Instagram has continued its strong start to 2017 by revealing that over 200 million people are now using Instagram Direct on a daily basis.

Interest in the feature, which borrows heavily from Snapchat, has risen since the beginning of 2017, when Instagram opened it up to advertisers.

The Drum notes Instagram now has 50 million more daily active Stories users than at the turn of the year.

The increasing popularity has brought with it the need to introduce new features, and Instagram has rolled out a range of new changes, including a Selfie Sticker tool that can be used both in Stories and its Direct offering.

Location-specific geostickers have been rolled out for four cities - including London - which Instagram says are "designed by local community members to help bring the cities they call home to life".

Instagram has also introduced a shortcut to users' favourite stickers, giving them quick access to the ones they have used most recently.