Post videos to your Instagram feed again with Boomerang
Instagram can get a bit stale after a while, if all you post or view are still photographs. A few options crop up from time to time to spice things up a bit, such as Phhhoto’s ability to shoot tiny animated GIFs. Unfortunately, Instagram blocked that app from its social graph, and Phhhoto responded by removing the ability to share images with that social network. So, how do you get the animation back in your Instagram feed? The social media network has recently unveiled its own app for shooting short animations, Boomerang from Instagram.
How it works
Boomerang shoots a one-second burst of five photographs that are then turned into a silent video playing forward and backward in a loop. The app automatically saves these videos to your camera roll, where you can share them however you like. It also provides you with buttons to share to Instagram, Facebook, and more options using the Share Sheet extension.
Simple, but brilliant, interface
You won’t find a lot of bells and whistles in Boomerang, but you don’t need them. You don’t have to have an Instagram account, and there’s no login to worry about. You just open the app and start shooting your short videos. You can choose between your front-facing camera, where you can make silly faces and post them, or the rear-facing camera for capturing those funny or exciting motions your dog makes.
What’s missing?
Boomerang is a nifty app, but there are a couple of features I wish it had. For one, I wish there was a countdown timer to help getting the perfect shots. It would also be nice if the app could use your iPhone’s camera flash.
Getting Boomerang
Boomerang is designed for the iPhone, and requires iOS 7 or later. You can download it for free on the App Store, with no ads or in-app purchases. See some of the things you could do with Boomerang in the video below, or click here if it doesn’t show up.
