Instagram Adds a New Lock Screen Widget to Help Post Stories Faster on iPhone 5f4k1r Technology News

The new Instagram widget opens the Story Camera directly from the lock screen. 3v2c3d

Written by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 4 March 2024 15:44 IST

Instagram Adds a New Lock Screen Widget to Help Post Stories Faster on iPhone

Instagram’s widget is only available on iOS since Android does not lock screen widgets 33555u

Highlights

The Instagram lock screen widget requires iOS 16 or higher
s will not be able to use the native camera while using the widget
Instagram is also reportedly working on a Friend Map feature

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report highlighted that the company is bringing a Friend Map feature, which could be similar to how Snap Map functions.

The new widget was added without much fanfare. There was no formal announcement by the company or any post by Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram. Over the weekend, many s posted about the feature online. Gadgets 360 was also able to confirm the new lock screen widget and its functionality.

The widget, called Story Camera, occupies a 1x1 grid on the lock screen. The widget icon is simply a circle with the plus icon in it. The description says “Open the Instagram Story Camera directly from your Lock Screen,” and it works exactly like that. Once a adds the widget, they can simply click on it to move to the story camera interface. There, they can either click an image or shoot a video right away and post it, or add an image from their gallery.

Instagram May Soon Let s Watch Reels on iOS Without ing App

One downside of this widget is that s will not be able to use the native camera app on the iPhone, which can capture higher-quality images. However, it is a good option for those who do not fuss over the image quality and want to quickly post a story. The Story camera also allows s to take advantage of the many in-app filters. The feature was rolled out last week and should reach all s globally in the coming days. s will require iOS 16 or higher as lock screen widgets are not present in the older OS versions.

Recently, a tipster claimed that Instagram is working on a feature that will let s see the last active location of their friends on a map. Tipped to be known as Friend Map, it appears that feature will open up the world map, where the friends of a could be visible (if they share their location data). s can also add notes and read notes left by other s.

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Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen ing his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing ionate opinions on food. More