I'm aware of how "millennial" this sounds, but Instagram Stories basically run my social life at this point. Aside from being able to see what all of my friends are up to at any moment in time, I'm able to fill in friends on all of my latest workouts, what I'm eating, where I'm traveling, and — most importantly — who I'm hanging out with. Until now, though, there was no exciting or cute way to tag your friends in photo or video Stories. But once you learn how to use Instagram's @mention sticker, you'll be able to tag friends in the most aesthetically pleasing manner.
Until the invention of the @mention sticker, tagging friends in Stories was a total drag. Users had type out in their friends' IG handles via the "text" feature with an @ sign, and it just looked kind of messy — especially if you were planning on adding other word. Fortunately, though, that's just a sad and boring memory of the past. Instagram's latest addition, the @mention sticker, is super simple to use, and it'll make all of your photo and video Stories look way better than ever before. It's an IG miracle.
Since users can tag friends in their 'gram Stories with the power of a sticker, I am hyped. The best part of using the @mention sticker is that although it's prettier than a regular tag, it can be added just as easily. Per Instagram's press release, start out by taking a photo or video in your Stories camera, and open the Stickers tray. Tap the @mention sticker, and type the account name you want to tag. Once you've found the right account to tag, proceed by rotating, scaling and placing your sticker wherever you'd like... and voilà, you're all set. It's literally that easy, the name you've tagged will be bordered by a clean-looking white box, and the text will appear in a pop of color. You're welcome (your Story looks fabulous).
Unfortunately, this feature will only be available in iOS... so I guess us Android users are kind of left in the dust. Sticking with text tags isn't the worst possible situation, but I'm definitely feeling some degree of FOMO. It's fine, don't even worry about me... I'll be OK.
In addition to this glorious new tagging feature, Instagram is also upping its selfie game to like, the tenth degree. If you haven't already seen it, they just added a new Focus feature, which manages to take professional AF-looking selfies for your Story. Just make sure your app is up-to-date, and proceed by going into Instagram's in-app camera. Slide the camera setting to "Focus," which is in wedged between Boomerang and Superzoom. Then, click the button to take a super polished selfie. Your face will be completely in focus, while the background behind you will be slightly blurry. It looks like the LinkedIn photo of my mom's dreams, and it might honestly give Portrait Mode a run for its money. The best part? It's available on both iOS and Androids. It makes sense I guess, because per The Declaration of Independence, all selfies are created equal. That's the line, right?
If you couldn't tell, Instagram is really upping its Story game. From creating the @mention sticker tag to giving 'grammers the Focus feature that allows for the best selfies ever, Instagram Stories are better than ever. I might have to petition for Instagram to give us 'Droid users the power of the @mention sticker, but I'll just celebrate the fact that we all have the Focus feature at this point.
