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.
The tools are available after downloading the newest version of Instagram, 6.0, on Android or Applephones. 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.
Instagram has more than 200 million users. It was founded in 2010 and acquired by Facebook in 2012.
Back in mid-May, Instagram updated its iOS app to version 5.0.11, removing its auto-sharing feature for Instagram likes and activity on Facebook.
“Updated Facebook share settings: Continue sharing your Instagram photos and videos on Facebook. But Instagram likes and activity will no longer be shared on Facebook,” stated the app description on the iTunes listing page.
The Instagram version 5.0.11 app only let users share images to Facebook via the in-app share button. It is being speculated that the particular feature being used by app’s 200 million monthly active users might clutter notification boxes and Facebook Timelines.
