To beat them, copy them.
Instagram took a page out of Vine and almost delivered the death blow when they added the ability to record videos in an update. Now it looks like they’re going after the VSCO Cam’s neck with the latest upgrade to the social network.
For those who are familiar with the VSCO Cam app, they provide a multitude of filters (some free, some you have to pay for), but their goal was to make people’s pictures look realer than IG. From filters that emulate negative Fuji film stocks and those that mimic classic slide film, pictures look much cleaner on the app. Overall, it was changing the way people used Instagram for those who prefer actual photography. Better filters and no stupid memes, selfies or pointless videos? It was a win-win situation.
The #vscocam hashtag was thriving and flourishing. Until now.
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It was all good just a week ago for VSCO Cam.
Instagram’s latest update has cut the middle man and almost eliminated the use for VSCOCAM by adding their own creative tools that can change brightness, contrast, warmth, saturation, sharpen, highlights and a whole lot more. All you have to do is click the “tool” button and activate a gang of options. If you double click each filter, you’ll be able to adjust how much intensity you want to add to a picture too.
Die hard fans will probably stick to VSCO moving forward, but average folks who don’t even know that app exists have no chance of ever finding out about it and settle for this new update. It was only a matter of time before it happened, right?
The update is available right now on iOS through the Apple App Store and on Android through Google Play.