Video and voice calls may soon be coming to Instagram
Instagram started out as a simple photo-sharing app, and though it's come a long way since then, Facebook is always looking for ways to cram more features into it.
Now, it looks like Instagram might be rolling out a major update soon. TechCrunchreader Ishan Agarwal recently spent some time digging through Instagram's code and found references to several unreleased features for audio and video calling.
SEE ALSO:3 Instagrammable spots in Manila no one knows aboutThese references include icons and files for features such as "call," "video call," and "action call."
Obviously, the fact that these files can be found inside Instagram's APK (Android Application Package) does not necessarily mean the features will be released -- they could be just remnants of features which were abandoned at some point. It is, however, far more likely that Instagram does plan to add these features in the near future. Instagram declined to comment on the matter.
This is not the first time Instagram has been caught experimenting with video chat; in August last year, the company launched an experimental feature that let two users star in a joint live video that was available for anyone to see. But this was different from one-to-one video chat, which is typically private.
If Instagram does add video and voice chats, it would make it one step closer to Snapchat, which it quite mercilessly borrowed from in the past, with features such as Stories. In fact, besides the oddball UI, the only major feature that differentiates Snapchat from Instagram at this point is video calls.
Facebook's Messenger already has a video calling feature, which makes the feature somewhat superfluous in Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. On the other hand, Facebook hasn't shied from duplicating features in its social apps; in Mar. 2017, Facebook added Stories to its Facebook app; later that year, it added the ability to crosspost Instagram stories to Facebook as well.
Featured Video For You
This 3D technology could be the future of FaceTime
-
U.S. Senators call on FTC to investigate the security of drivers' dataIn wake of Western sanctions, Russia can't seem to stop cyber attacksThe Webb telescope just looked inside our galaxy's core. It's wild.Sancho shines as Dortmund deny Bayern fourth straight Super CupBest smart home deals this week at AmazonNew Dyson Airwrap 2: Cost, release date, and more四川雅安累计住院4346人 无重大传染病疫情央视汉源拍微电影记录震中故事US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.Saturn's 'Death Star' moon has been keeping a big secret
- ·Table tennis star Shin Yu
- ·North Korea's high status at WHO sends wrong message to world: health experts
- ·People are outraged that Sophia the robot has more rights than most women in Saudi Arabia
- ·New Dyson Airwrap 2: Cost, release date, and more
- ·We Bought the Cheapest DDR5 RAM Modules We Could Find, Are They Any Good?
- ·Koreas to open hotline between leaders Friday
- ·Women share screenshots of the replies they received after asking out their crushes
- ·芦山地震灾区急需公交车司机 20名大车驾考学员异地考试
- ·Is Mercury retrograde messing with you? Think again.
- ·Kristen Bell's Halloween costume might be the most delightful thing in 2017
- ·Elon Musk tells Tesla workers that 'remote work is no longer acceptable'
- ·Cher was a big fan of Kim Kardashian's Cher Halloween costume
- ·Blinken condemns Russia
- ·New Dyson Airwrap 2: Cost, release date, and more
- ·GameStop basically just turned itself into a Blockbuster for video games
- ·Court upholds jail term for Daegu pharmacy thief
- ·Coach jailed for sexual exploitation of underage athlete
- ·NASA captures Sun's strongest solar flare in 6 years
- ·S. Korea to carry out 1st in
- ·绵竹市无偿捐赠宝兴安装新地质灾害预警系统
- ·Anatomy of a Keyboard
- ·The 10 best travel tech gadgets for your next adventure in 2022
- ·Korean hiker dies while trekking on US Pacific Crest Trail
- ·In wake of Western sanctions, Russia can't seem to stop cyber attacks
- ·From Prairie Grasslands to Man
- ·S. Korean rights watchdog head urges China to stop repatriation of NK defectors
- ·Is Mercury retrograde messing with you? Think again.
- ·'Stranger Things' is strange, but the real world is much stranger
- ·宝兴震区适龄儿童强化性疫苗防疫全覆盖
- ·S. Korea to carry out 1st in
- ·“新丰味”喜获中国首届县域品牌擂台赛十大营销创新品牌
- ·Indie game dares to talk about death in a way few others have
- ·NK announces freeze on nuclear, missile tests
- ·Webb telescope probes space explosion and makes fascinating discovery
- ·Black Friday GPU Buying Guide: November GPU Pricing Update
- ·Dolly Parton read the UK a bedtime story and she's now a national hero