As part of its ongoing campaign to slowly morph into Snapchat, Instagram is doubling down on augmented reality features in its app. The latest addition is face filters to live video, which will help you hide as much of your face as possible from viewers on your channel.
Instagram tried to explain the benefits in a blog post, writing “Whether you’re channeling a kitten or want to add some stars or rainbow light to your face, you can easily try on face filters while connecting with friends and followers in the moment.”
Details about which face filters you can expect are sparse, but just from the screenshots Instagram provided, it looks like sunglasses are going to be a big part of it. Using the filters should be simple for anyone familiar with Instagram, or Snapchat for that matter. “To use face filters in live video, tap the face icon in the bottom right corner before or during your broadcast. Tap any filter to check out a new look, and play around with as many as you’d like,” the company writes. “You can also try on the new sunglasses face filter — available exclusively in live video for the next week — and tap to change the scenery reflected in your lenses.”
The changes will be rolling out to Instagram users worldwide over the next few weeks. AR features like live filters are likely to become an increasingly big part of social media, whether you like it or not. Apple already demonstrated the technological prowess of its Animoji on the iPhone X, and as depth-sensing cameras become more commonplace on devices, the stupid things that apps can do with them will only become more creative.
