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Instagram Now Lets You Poll People in Stories

Share a poll and friends and followers who view your story will be able to vote and see the results in real time.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Instagram Stories are about to get a little more interactive.

The Facebook-owned social media app on Tuesday introduced a new feature that lets you create and add a poll to your story. The polling feature, and some new creative tools for your stories, are available as part of Instagram version 17 and above in the App Store and Google Play.

"Whether you're trying to plan tomorrow's outfit, choosing which class to take or figuring out where to go for dinner, now it's easy to share a two-option poll right in your story," Instagram wrote in a blog post.

To try it out, just snap or select a photo or video for your story like usual, then select the "poll" sticker and place it wherever you like. "You can write out your own question and even customize the poll choices," Instagram wrote.

Then, just share your poll and friends and followers who view your story will be able to vote and see the results in real time. "Once someone has voted on your poll, they'll see which choice is in the lead at any given moment," Instagram explained. "And if they watch your story again later, they'll see the latest results."

To see the results of your own poll, swipe up like you normally would to see who viewed your story. There, you'll see how many votes each option received, who voted, and how they voted. Like Stories, polls disappear after 24 hours.

As The Next Web points out, Instagram's new polling feature is similar to popular add-on for Snapchat called Polly.

Meanwhile, Instagram also introduced two new creative tools for stories: a color picker for text and brushes and an alignment tool for text and stickers. The new color picker (an eyedropper icon) will let you select any hue from your photo or video and apply it to your text or drawing tool. The alignment tool, which is only available on iOS at this time, will help you position your text in the center of your story and "avoid placing it anywhere that might get covered up when someone watches your story," Instagram wrote.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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