March 5, 2018
Instagram has developed into far more than a photo-sharing app and it’s showing no signs of stopping. It’s recently been reported that we could be seeing video and voice calling added to the expanding list of features. Secret codes have been found hidden in the app’s APK (android application package) files in the shape of audio and visual call icons.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this rumour. In January this year there was a report on the development of the video calling feature, however, now that it’s on the APK in public domain, it seems like we could be one step closer to the release. To put this into perspective, the recently rolled out Giphy GIF sharing feature on Instagram Stories was spotted in an APK last year.
In August last year, Instagram did dabble with video chat, allowing users to create a joint live video. However, they’re yet to introduce private video chat, a feature that the majority of other platforms have got nailed. At the moment, this is the only dominant feature that Snapchat has that Instagram doesn’t, and although the idea of using social apps to make calls isn’t exactly fresh and new, it will still give Instagram a cutting edge in their on-going competition with Snapchat, particularly with Snapchat’s recent re-design not being received positively.
At this stage, Instagram have declined to comment on the development and exposure of these codes, however, with Instagram looking to match up to the competition, they’d be missing a trick, and it’s likely that we could see these capabilities rolled out in the future.
Knowing Instagram and their battle to reach the top, perhaps we could also see calling support to Facebook & WhatsApp accounts. The sweet sounds of success…