Instagram launches its own in-app portrait mode

Instagram has just launched a new feature called “Focus“, which is an in-app portrait mode that utilizes software instead of dual lenses, similar to how the Google Pixel 2 uses AI for its portrait mode.

Focus seems to use Instagram’s face-detection algorithms to distinguish faces and the background, blurring out the latter. It works with both the front and rear camera.

It’s part of version 39.0, and is available on iPhone SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, and select Android phones. Instagram hasn’t released a specific list of Android phones, though. If you do have it, you’ll find it next to “Superzoom” under the record button.

Additionally, Instagram has also launched a @mention sticker on iOS, allowing users to directly tag their friends in stories.