Snapchat and Instagram stories both have a similar way in which they work so the interface does not make a huge difference. What matters for experience is how users have defined each network for different use situations.
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There is no doubt that Instagram has already stolen a large share of market share from Snapchat stories. But let’s look at the content, the platforms are being used differently. Here are the main differences I see;
Snapchat Stories
- Mostly friends with the ability to watch professional accounts from the Discover tab without directly following.
- Started with privacy as a top feature. That has stayed true and my friends share more personal content.
- Large set of hidden easter eggs. Filters, BitMoji, secret trophies, augmented reality filters. Young users on the platform love this.
- Fewer contacts, it is much harder to share your Snapchat.
- News: The platform has successfully crowdsourced and curated thousands of snaps into user-generated content news stories.
Instagram Stories
- Instagram stories are cluttered with the professional accounts I follow and had disappeared after the algorithm update, it may not give priority to real friends.
- Higher quality images. Even though the images disappear after 24 hours they still have a more cinematic quality to them, unlike Snapchat.
- When I looked at Snapchat, they were always videos of people out at bars on the weekends before lockdown. This may be a reflection of the small sample size I am making analysis of.
- Shorter stories. I generally see longer stories on Snapchat. This may be because the culture of Instagram is to curate more heavily.
It’s pretty “taboo” to post multiple images in rapid succession. This may be why users are more careful about what they post. - Search and discovery is far easier with Instagram. Even after the ability to search on Snapchat, it doesn’t feel like the right place.
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