Instagram now lets you vandalize your friends’ photos with custom text and doodles

In a bid to encourage more users to privately message one another, Instagram today announced a new feature it’s calling “remixing.” The process involves editing a friend’s photo sent to you via direct message with stickers and custom text and doodles, and then sending it back to them within another photo of yourself.

That way, you can make it seem like your friend’s selfie is part of your own staged scene, giving your friend free rein to make you look as goofy or compromised as possible. You can also control how many times the message can be viewed by your friends by choosing between “one view” or “allow replay” options when sending. The update is live now, Instagram says.

If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is. But visually, you can see what the app maker is going for here:

You can probably already see all the playful chaos you can cause with such a feature when applied with a more adult-themed mindset. I mean, we live in a world where a US Navy pilot drew a giant penis using the exhaust clouds of his aircraft this month. I shudder to think of the kind of vandalism close friends may be willing to subject one another to in the privacy of their Instagram DM chats.

Still, perhaps I’m expecting the worst out of what may amount to a relatively harmless feature. Maybe people will really draw goofy neon light sunglasses on their friends’ faces, or share their colorful, tropical-themed drinks and never pull pranks on each other using unfettered access to doodling tools and a perfectly innocent photograph. What a world that would be.

- The Verge