Instagram adds new type mode and more in update for Windows 10 Mobile

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Instagram is getting a surprise batch of new features for Windows 10 Mobile.

If you're still holding on to your Windows 10 Mobile phone, whether for posterity or as a daily driver, Instagram is rolling out a slate of new features for the platform. Initially spotted by All About Windows Phone (via OnMSFT), the Instagram app for Windows 10 Mobile now includes a new type mode for stories, along with the ability to allow friends to remix your disappearing photos, adding to a feature first introduced last year.

When sending a disappearing photo or video, you can set the option to allow friends to only view it once, or allow replays. If you set it to allow replays, friends can then "remix" photos and videos by adding stickers, text, or drawings and send them back. Think Snapchat, but with a little more back-and-forth.

The type mode feature is rather bland by comparison, allowing you to simply add a bit of text to a colorful background for sharing with others.

Instagram

Images: All About Windows Phone

The app's store text describes this as Instagram for tablets, which is wording that has been present for some time. However, that could hint that this update and future ones are primarily geared more toward future Windows 10 on ARM devices rather than the dead Windows 10 Mobile platform. That could explain the bugginess of some of the new features on Windows 10 Mobile handsets, but it's just speculation.

In any case, the latest update for Instagram is available via the Microsoft Store now.

See at Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

12 Comments
  • Still cant view stories sent by friends
  • That's good for the few people that still use Windows phone I guess. I mean most hardcore fanboys claim that they don't use apps so maybe this update will benefit less than 1% of those users.
  • Haha, good one!
  • And now when you open the app instead of timeline you see the camera of stories 😂
  • Color me shocked! The Type mode was introduced a couple of months back and it's here now. Type mode is handy at times to use for information.
  • Mixer+ and Todo and most Inbox apps continue to be updated. And when I say I dont use apps that is because even on Droid I would not use them because the we is better. One App I would like to see is Stringify since the web app does not let you set up devices.
  • Annoying that it automatically opens in a "selfie" mode, which might be useful for a teenager, but not for me. Also, it no longer seems able to refresh its feed, so I just get a blank screen. I don't post on Instagram, but I do use it to see the beautiful art that my daughter posts fairly regularly, now I use the webpage to see her posts.
  • The Windows 10 UWP app was also updated, but no new changes were apparent (not even IGTV).
  • It is the same app
  • I'm still on Windows Phone and love apps so this is great news. Instagram is one of my most used apps, so the more updates the better. :D
    Big ups to those apps that still update Windows Phones (Twitter, Instagram, Fitbit, WhatsApp, etc).
  • Instagram knows mobile PC's are coming, so they are not giving up on their mobile version. I would assume this app could scale for devices like Andromeda.
  • On my Lumia 930 no update was delivered, what can I do?