Boomerang is a popular Instagram feature that lets you easily create looping GIF-style clips. Now a new leak has shown that Instagram is testing some new modes for Boomerangs.
Instagram is reportedly testing five new Boomerang modes: a Hold mode that pauses at the end of the loop, a Dynamic mode that wiggles at the end of a loop, a Slowmo mode that makes your Boomerang move in slow motion, a Duo mode that is slightly slower than the regular Boomerang mode, and a fifth mode that's slightly faster.
These modes were discovered by Jane Manchun Wong, who found them by digging into the code of the Instagram app for Android. To see examples of what the modes actually look like when they're used, you can check out Manchun Wong's blog.
Also discovered inside the code of Instagram's app is a hint that the company is working on bringing Layout to Stories. Layout is a dedicated app from Instagram that helps you create collages using your photos, but code suggests that Instagram is considering integrating Layouts into its main app's Stories feature.
Instagram is testing comment sharing, too, letting you quickly share a comment on an Instagram post (shown below), as well as Notification Filters in the Activity tab that'll let you see only a certain type of notification, like comments. Finally, Instagram is testing its Apps and Websites feature in the app. Currently only available on the web version of Instagram, the Apps and Websites feature lets you manage which third-party apps and websites have been authorized to access your Instagram account.
Since Instagram hasn't officially announced any of these leaked features, it's not known when or if they'll actually launch to the public. That said, they look like nice improvements, giving the already-fun Boomerang feature more modes and more ways to allow folks to get creative with it. Meanwhile, the Notification Filters and Apps and Websites features are nice quality of life improvements for the Instagram apps.