Wheels are round, Toblerone pieces are triangular and Instagram photos are square, or at least they were, until today.
In a post just published on Instagram’s blog, the company has announced that users will no longer have to conform to the square 1:1 aspect ratio that defined the look and feel of the platform since its inception.
Previously those looking to share panoramas or a full length selfie would have to edit the photos using 3rd-party software or just accept that much of their shot would have to be cropped out. The same was true of video too, leaving footage not shot within the app feeling tight or poorly framed.
This latest update adds support for landscape and portrait images natively, with a tap of the new format button letting you scale your chosen picture back to its original aspect ratio and the same feature works with videos too.
Despite broadening its format horizons, when viewing snaps in grid mode, thumbnails of images will still be cropped to squares in order to keep the viewing experience tidy. Unless you view an image full-screen, you won’t be able to tell whether it’s in fact a full portrait or landscape shot.
In addition to greater control over framing your pictures, Instagram also revealed that the vast library of once photo-only filters is now available to apply to video too. Both iOS and Android versions of Instagram 7.4 are now available, complete with these new features.
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