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How To Tell If You Have The New Insta Geostickers
by Lily Feinn
Photo of two woman taking a break from the exercise. They are looking at smart phone and laughing
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Looking for a fun way to spice up your Insta posts? In its latest update, Instagram is releasing over a dozen new geostickers for New York City and Jakarta just in time for spring break travelers. If you are unsure how to tell if you have the new Instagram geostickers, accessing the new options is thankfully pretty straightforward. They can be a great way to add context to those ephemeral posts published in Stories, so get ready to have a whole lot of fun.

Much like Snapchat’s geofilters, these stickers tell followers where a photo or video was taken — something particularly handy when the images are being scrolled through quickly in a slideshow format. Stickers were added to Instagram Stories in December, and can be employed when editing a post by tapping on the smiley face at the top right corner of the screen. Users will find a variety of stickers that can offer contextual details to a post such as the specific time, temperature and weather, and location — which the app will automatically provide. Users can easily change the look of the stickers by tapping on them for more options, as well as changing their placement and size. In addition to contextual stickers, 'grammers can liven up a stories post with hats, glasses, emojis, and specialty seasonal stickers available around the holidays.

Up to this point, the location stickers have be somewhat limited — and as a New York City resident, I can’t wait to test out the new geo-specific stickers which will include even more new landmarks and neighborhoods. Next time I fly out of JFK airport, visit the American Natural History Museum, or take the A train to Harlem, I will be able to put the moment in context with an updated sticker.

Here's a step-by-step guide of how to tell if you have Instagram's newest geostickers in time for your next big trip:

1

Update Your Instagram App

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While Instagram's geostickers have been around for several months now, the newest additions will be arriving care of the Instagram version 10.11 — so you will want to upgrade to the latest version of the app. For iOS devices, head over to the App Store. Android users will want to check out Google Play for all available updates. If you don't have this version of Instagram, you probably won't have the stickers.

2

Travel To The Desired Location And Create A Story

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Once you travel to your Instagram-worthy location, make sure that the photo-sharing app has permission to access your current location prior to creating a Story. To do so, go to your phone's settings, tap the privacy option and then "location settings." Allow Instagram to access your location "While Using The App." Create a story by tapping your profile photo in the Stories section at the top of the feed, and go ahead and create that Insta magic!

3

Tap The Smiley Face Icon To Reveal Sticker Options

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Once you capture the perfect photo or video, Instagram will direct you to the editing page. Tap the square smiley face in the upper right hand side of the screen and the sticker options will appear at the bottom of the screen. Location, time, and temperature will be the first ones listed.

4

Add A Geosticker To The Post And Publish Your Unique Creation!

Courtesy of Instagram

Once you tap the "Location" sticker, the sticker options will autopopulate with nearby landmarks and neighborhoods. If you have the new geostickers in New York, what you'll see will look something like it does here. With more custom locations than ever before, you will be sure to find the perfect sticker for your post. Warning: current location stickers may produce vacation envy in Story viewers.

For more information check out the Instagram Help Center. Happy 'gramming y'all!