Instagram Adds a New Lock Screen Widget to Help Post Stories Faster on iPhone

Instagram, the social media platform, recently added a new feature to its iOS app that will make clicking and posting Stories faster than before. The app now comes with a new lock screen widget that will directly open the Story Camera and allow users to click a picture or shoot a video and post it as a Story. Instagram is reportedly working on multiple new features. An earlier report highlighted that the company is bringing a Friend Map feature, which could be similar to how Snap Map functions.

The new widget was added without much fanfare. There was no formal announcement by the company or any post by Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram. Over the weekend, many users posted about the feature online. Gadgets 360 was also able to confirm the new lock screen widget and its functionality.

The widget, called Story Camera, occupies a 1×1 grid on the lock screen. The widget icon is simply a circle with the plus icon in it. The description says “Open the Instagram Story Camera directly from your Lock Screen,” and it works exactly like that. Once a user adds the widget, they can simply click on it to move to the story camera interface. There, they can either click an image or shoot a video right away and post it, or add an image from their gallery.

One downside of this widget is that users will not be able to use the native camera app on the iPhone, which can capture higher-quality images. However, it is a good option for those who do not fuss over the image quality and want to quickly post a story. The Story camera also allows users to take advantage of the many in-app filters. The feature was rolled out last week and should reach all users globally in the coming days. Users will require iOS 16 or higher as lock screen widgets are not present in the older OS versions.

Recently, a tipster claimed that Instagram is working on a feature that will let users see the last active location of their friends on a map. Tipped to be known as Friend Map, it appears that feature will open up the world map, where the friends of a user could be visible (if they share their location data). Users can also add notes and read notes left by other users.