Snapchat Feature Theft

Instagram Stories (launched August 2, 2016) - blatant Snapchat clone - became Instagram’s most successful feature with 500M+ daily users, proving Facebook’s “copy and crush” strategy works.

Announcement: Kevin Systrom admitted Snapchat inspiration; “They deserve credit”; shameless copying

Format: 24-hour disappearing photos/videos, filters, text, drawing; identical to Snapchat Stories

Snapchat reaction: Evan Spiegel publicly dismissive; privately worried; user growth immediately slowed

Instagram advantage: Existing user base (500M vs. Snapchat’s 150M); no separate app download; integrated experience

Growth: 100M users in 2 months, 500M in 2 years; surpassed Snapchat Stories usage

Features: Instagram continuously added Snapchat features (face filters, Boomerang, Superzoom)

Creator impact: Influencers posting Stories more than feed; ephemeral content lower pressure than permanent posts

Business value: Ads in Stories generating billions; Facebook’s copycat strategy validated

Snapchat decline: Growth stalled; stock price suffered; never recovered market position

Instagram Stories proves copying works when you have distribution - better to be second with scale than first.

Sources:
https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/02/instagram-stories/
https://www.theverge.com/