Instagram continues to try and replicate the BeReal experience, but one of its latest features (in testing) outshines the other. Meta refuses to let Instagram fall behind after the surprising success of BeReal. The fledgling app earned recognition for its authentic approach to social media. In true Meta form, developers were quick to emulate BeReal's signature features when faced with new competition.
Instagram began with its dual-camera implementation and testing of a new feature, Candid Challenges. With this capability, Instagram would randomly invite users across the platform to take an unfiltered, dual-camera photo that would post to their personal stories. Even though Instagram rushed to integrate these core attributes, that did not keep the app from testing other BeReal possibilities.
According to developer and tipster Allessandro Paluzzi on Twitter, Instagram is working on two new features called 'Roll Call' and 'Glimpse Stories.' While both features draw on BeReal, such as expiring after a set period, they differ in concept. For starters, Roll Call is a spin-off of Instagram’s Candid Challenges. Roll Call’s uniqueness is its ability for users to prompt their friends to post a photo or video, rather than Instagram’s algorithm sending the alerts. Additionally, the feature takes place within a group message. Once a user requests a Roll Call, friends in the group chat will have only five minutes to submit their photos or videos.
Why Instagram Roll Call Is Potentially Better
Glimpse Stories, however, is more of a home to Candid Challenges. As per Paluzzi, the feature has been recently renamed to 'Candid.' The feature will have its own Story icon where users can participate in uploading and viewing candid photos. Glimpse Stories is far more similar to BeReal. For users to see the photos within a Glimpse Story, they must participate by submitting a candid shot. Given that Glimpse Stories is a hub for these types of images, it seems that Instagram learned from TikTok’s adaptation of the same feature. TikTok Now is gaining more users because of its core location in the app. On the other hand, a BeReal feature that works as a story is a better fit for Instagram’s design.
However, Roll Call is the more unique feature among the two, given that no other platform offers anything similar at the moment. Since users can control when a Roll Call is triggered, it can spark engagement among others in the group chat. The idea is intriguing enough that it's not hard to imagine it coming to other Meta platforms, like WhatsApp and Messenger. Currently, BeReal has no messaging within the platform or any capability to separate friends into isolated groups. For this reason, Roll Call is the winner of Instagram’s two future features.
These potential features are in the early testing phase. It's still being determined if Instagram will implement one, both, or neither, depending on the user response. With BeReal still ranking high on app store charts, it is unlikely that Meta will give up without a fight. Therefore, there's a good chance that both Roll Call and Glimpse Stories will roll out to Instagram users soon.