Ever͏͏ tried͏͏ posting͏͏ a͏͏ horizontal͏͏ photo͏͏ on͏͏ your͏͏ Instagram͏͏ Story͏͏ and͏͏ wished͏͏ it͏͏ would͏͏ fit͏͏ the͏͏ vertical͏͏ format͏͏ without͏͏ awkward͏͏ cropping͏͏ or͏͏ empty͏͏ spaces?͏͏ Well,͏͏ Instagram͏͏ just͏͏ rolled͏͏ out͏͏ a͏͏ nifty͏͏ AI͏͏ feature͏͏ that͏͏ might͏͏ be͏͏ the͏͏ solution͏͏ we’ve͏͏ all͏͏ been͏͏ waiting͏͏ for.
IG has an AI expander tool in Stories now pic.twitter.com/PglOUVKkoG
— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) October 24, 2024
Earlier͏͏ today,͏͏ tech͏͏ enthusiast͏͏ Sam͏͏ Sheffer͏͏ shared͏͏ on͏͏ his͏͏ X͏͏ account͏͏ (formerly͏͏ Twitter)͏͏ that͏͏ Instagram͏͏ now͏͏ offers͏͏ an͏͏ AI͏͏ expander͏͏ tool͏͏ for͏͏ Stories.͏͏ “This͏͏ is͏͏ one͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ most͏͏ useful͏͏ features͏͏ Instagram͏͏ has͏͏ shipped͏͏ in͏͏ years,”͏͏ he͏͏ mentioned.͏͏ If͏͏ you’re͏͏ like͏͏ me,͏͏ you’ve͏͏ probably͏͏ been͏͏ annoyed͏͏ when͏͏ the͏͏ old͏͏ ‘scale͏͏ up’͏͏ feature͏͏ disappeared.͏͏ I͏͏ was͏͏ never͏͏ sure͏͏ what͏͏ happened͏͏ to͏͏ it,͏͏ but͏͏ it’s͏͏ gone—or͏͏ it͏͏ was͏͏ until͏͏ now.
How͏͏ Does͏͏ It͏͏ Work?
According͏͏ to͏͏ the͏͏ Instagram͏͏ app:
- Expand͏͏ Your͏͏ Image:͏͏ You͏͏ can͏͏ instantly͏͏ expand͏͏ the͏͏ edges͏͏ of͏͏ your͏͏ photo͏͏ to͏͏ fill͏͏ your͏͏ Story.
- How͏͏ It͏͏ Works:͏͏ “AI͏͏ can͏͏ analyze͏͏ your͏͏ photo͏͏ to͏͏ creatively͏͏ expand͏͏ the͏͏ image.”
In͏͏ simple͏͏ terms,͏͏ the͏͏ AI͏͏ analyzes͏͏ your͏͏ original͏͏ photo͏͏ and͏͏ generates͏͏ additional͏͏ content͏͏ around͏͏ the͏͏ edges͏͏ to͏͏ transform͏͏ it͏͏ into͏͏ a͏͏ vertical͏͏ image.͏͏ It’s͏͏ like͏͏ having͏͏ a͏͏ virtual͏͏ artist͏͏ extend͏͏ your͏͏ canvas.
Steps͏͏ to͏͏ Use͏͏ the͏͏ Tool
1.͏͏ Choose͏͏ the͏͏ horizontal͏͏ or͏͏ square͏͏ image͏͏ you͏͏ want͏͏ to͏͏ post͏͏ on͏͏ your͏͏ Story.
2.͏͏ In͏͏ the͏͏ Story͏͏ editor,͏͏ look͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ ‘Expand’͏͏ button͏͏ or͏͏ option.
3.͏͏ Tap͏͏ on͏͏ it,͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ AI͏͏ will͏͏ generate͏͏ extended͏͏ edges͏͏ to͏͏ make͏͏ your͏͏ image͏͏ vertical.
4.͏͏ Check͏͏ out͏͏ the͏͏ expanded͏͏ image.͏͏ If͏͏ you’re͏͏ happy͏͏ with͏͏ it,͏͏ go͏͏ ahead͏͏ and͏͏ share͏͏ it͏͏ on͏͏ your͏͏ Story.
Things͏͏ to͏͏ Keep͏͏ in͏͏ Mind
- The͏͏ AI͏͏ isn’t͏͏ flawless.͏͏ Sometimes͏͏ the͏͏ generated͏͏ edges͏͏ might͏͏ look͏͏ a͏͏ bit͏͏ off͏͏ or͏͏ not͏͏ match͏͏ perfectly͏͏ with͏͏ the͏͏ original͏͏ photo.
- Based͏͏ on͏͏ Meta’s͏͏ terms,͏͏ they͏͏ may͏͏ use͏͏ your͏͏ content͏͏ to͏͏ train͏͏ and͏͏ improve͏͏ their͏͏ AI͏͏ tools.͏͏ So,͏͏ if͏͏ you’re͏͏ cautious͏͏ about͏͏ privacy,͏͏ you͏͏ might͏͏ want͏͏ to͏͏ consider͏͏ this͏͏ before͏͏ using͏͏ the͏͏ feature.
Earlier͏͏ this͏͏ year,͏͏ Instagram͏͏ introduced͏͏ AI-powered͏͏ background͏͏ tools͏͏ for͏͏ Stories.͏͏ Engadget͏͏ reported͏͏ on͏͏ how͏͏ users͏͏ could͏͏ replace͏͏ and͏͏ generate͏͏ backgrounds,͏͏ enhancing͏͏ creativity.͏͏ With͏͏ this͏͏ new͏͏ expander͏͏ tool,͏͏ Instagram͏͏ is͏͏ further͏͏ integrating͏͏ AI͏͏ to͏͏ improve͏͏ user͏͏ experience.
