The photo sharing app Instagram is adding editing tools that go beyond the vintage-looking filters that made it popular.
The Facebook-owned app said in a blog post Tuesday that users will be able to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation and other features of photos they take with their smartphones.
“Inspiring creativity is incredibly important to us—and as the Instagram community grows, we’ve been excited to hear requests for more ways to creatively take hold of how your photos look and feel,” the blog reads.
“When you go to select a filter, you’ll now see a new wrench icon. Tap it and you’ll find a tray of photo editing tools ready for you to explore. You can also now adjust how much of a filter you apply to a photo by double tapping the filter icon.
“You take a photo to capture a moment, but often what you see in the photograph doesn’t feel the same as what you remember. From brightening up a photo of your dinner party to better capturing the warmth of a sunset portrait, these new creative tools help you bring out and share the beauty of the moment as you remember it—right inside the same simple Instagram you already know.
“We can’t wait to see what you’ll share next.”
The tools are available after downloading the newest version of Instagram, 6.0, on Android or Apple phones. The photo editing tools will appear under a wrench icon.
Instagram’s filters can enhance photos or add a certain hue to them, to make them look like they were taken with a Polaroid camera in the 1970s. But as smartphone cameras have improved, many users have become more sophisticated about their snapshots. Some have turned to other apps with more powerful editing tools to fix photos before posting them on Instagram.
For more details, visit help.instagram.com.
Instagram has more than 200 million users. It was founded in 2010 and acquired by Facebook in 2012.
