Yahoo News How Instagram's AR filters became the new route to internet stardom
Disney characters, your future husband, even your New Years’ resolution — if you’re making decisions without the help of an Instagram filter then quite frankly you’re doing it wrong in 2020.
When we say “filter” we don’t mean Valencia or X-Pro-II, the colourful presets available to transform an image posted to your own Instagram grid, which elevated the app to stratospheric heights after its launch in 2010. No, these filters are made using Facebook’s Spark AR platform and are for use in the platform’s popular Stories function — 400 million monthly users and counting.
Launched in 2018, Spark AR is all about democratising access to augmented reality creation tools — whereby computer-generated images are superimposed over a user’s view of the real world. AR has always been a big part of social media platforms, the Snapchat dog filter being one of the earliest examples.
Facebook opened up Spark AR last year to allow anyone to create 3D effects for Instagram Stories. In the past few weeks, the filters have taken off whether it’s filling your screen with avocados (by @akikokoga), or turning your face into a loop (by @mikemanhworks).
It’s the new way to get Insta-famous thanks to the slightly cumbersome way Instagram forces you to find and try out the filter. If someone on your Stories feed has used one, you can tap on it and select ‘try it’ or save it to your filters, so it comes up in the carousel on the screen. The alternative route is to go directly to a creator’s profile — tap the glittery smiley face to access the filter and try it yourself. Student Filippo Soccini (@filippo.soccini), maker of the 2020 Predictions filter, gained an impressive 90,000 followers on the platform in three days, with the likes of Jennifer Aniston among the 300 million people that have tried it out.
The Instagram filter effects aren’t just for discovering which Succession character or Pokémon you are. Sustainable fashion activist Tolmeia Gregory (@tollydollyposh) has created a filter which cycles through different ways to protect the environment from trying veganism to donating to an eco organisation.
“I focus on environmental issues and sustainability already so it was a perfect way of combining my work as both a graphic designer and environmental activist with a current trend. I think the filter caught on at the right time — it is still fun but it’s also a reminder that there are some really simple ways for us to engage in being environmentally conscious,” she says.
But why have they become so popular? Joe Smith, strategic account director for Social Chain Media, thinks the filters are the social evolution of Buzzfeed’s popular personality quizzes: “They’re just as widely relatable and shareable.” The fact that they can be difficult to locate helps too. “This increases urgency for users. They see a quiz or filter they like and try it immediately for fear of missing out on that small piece of cultural relevance.”
Smith thinks we’re only getting started, particularly as brands will soon try out their own and creators will see their followers grow as a result. “We are potentially seeing the emergence of a new genre of influencer,” he adds.
The new route to internet stardom? Best get planning.
