Good news for the Instagram Story chroniclers out there: Instagram Stories is launching custom, location-based geostickers for everyone to play with, starting with a limited release on Tuesday. According to Instagram, the update to the geostickers will start in New York City and Jakarta, and will essentially allow users to personalize their location in a fresh way. Instead of just having the standard geotags with the transparent white backgrounds like it does now, the app is adding custom stickers for particular locations that will look markedly different and capture the ~vibe~ of that area or landmark.
Users will be able to access these new geostickers the same way they access the regular ones, by tapping the icon on the upper right hand of the screen. While the user is in any part of the city — in this case, NYC or Jakarta — they will be able to use the city's main distinctive, newly-personalized geosticker. As they navigate the city, other more specific location-based and redesigned geostickers will also be available, marking neighborhoods, areas, and landmarks with a catchy new flair. Each one of the new stickers aims to emulate the spirit of the location it marks.
People viewing the Instagram Story will be able to tap the geosticker and see the location of it on a map (although they will not be able to access other Stories that have use the geosticker).
Instagram Stickers, which were first introduced to the Instagram Stories platform this past December, offer a variety of other options as well, including temperature tags, time of day tags, emoji, and seasonal tags to celebrate major holidays. This marks the first major addition to the Stickers lineup, and although Instagram doesn't have a timeframe yet, it is expected to roll out beyond New York and Jakarta as well. If you live in either of those locations and don't see the new geostickers yet, make sure to update your Instagram app to the latest version and try again.
