Snapchat's continuing implosion is Instagram's gain.
As more users flock to Instagram, primarily to share Stories, the Facebook-owned company is testing a long list of new features that'll further accelerate growth and leave Snapchat in its dust.
SEE ALSO:All the new rumored Instagram features that might kick Snapchat's assA couple of weeks ago developer Jane Manchun Wong shared a list of new, unreleased Instagram features the app was privately testing. Then, on Saturday, Wong unloaded even more possible features that may or may not ever see the light of day.
I caught up with Wong over Twitter DM to get a better understanding how she was making these discoveries.
Wong says she keeps a copy of each new public version of Instagram (for Android) and then decompiles the app's code using a publicly available tool capable of reverse engineering closed Android apps (she requested I not include the tool's name because she's not an advocate of people using it for hacking or other malicious purposes) and a custom Python script she wrote herself.
"The more I find, the more I learn. I see this as my hobby. It's like treasure hunting."
She then looks through the new code to see what's changed and what new features have been added that haven't been made public. "It requires reading through assembly code and it's a pain to make some of the finds possible."
What Wong doesn't have is access to any developer preview version of the app. "I don't have a developer preview. If I do, all of these will be a breach of a NDA (if there's one)."
Reverse-engineering the code is painstaking for sure and one would think Wong is doing it for the fame. But that's not the impression I got from our conversation.
"The more I find, the more I learn. I see this as my hobby. It's like treasure hunting," Wong said. "Sure, it takes some of my free time, but the treasure is the bugs and hidden features that I can get some laughs from."
Wong pointed me to a recent tweet response from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in response to a hidden end-to-end encryption Twitter DM feature she discovered:
Tweet may have been deleted
"Sometimes I just do that for the lolz and see how they would react to it," Wong says. "For example, Jack the CEO of Twitter handled my find very well lol."
With that light-hearted mentality, here are some of the new unreleased features Wong's discovered.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
TopicsInstagramSocial Media
(责任编辑：綜合)
The U.S. will no longer have the final say on internet domain names
KAYAK now offers flight information through Amazon's Alexa
Where Americans are traveling in Europe this summer
Mabel the pug is New York City's greatest fashionistaThese glasses hide a fitness tracker on your faceOver 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California's Cajon Pass has grown in hot, dry weather, thre
...[详细]Python takes bathroom break in national park ladies' room
If you're reading this on the toilet (hey, no judgment), better relocate fast.Earlier this week, ran
...[详细]Drew Barrymore, Pitbull help kick off Chelsea Handler's Netflix talk show
NEW YORK -- "Hello, world. Here I am. Did you miss me?"That's one of the first things Chelsea Handle
...[详细]George R.R. Martin releases a new chapter from 'Winds of Winter'
George R.R. Martin has given Game of Thronesfans a gift from the Seven Gods: a new chapter from the
...[详细]This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
LONDON -- We are living through the golden age of celebrity relationships. Gone are the days of tort
...[详细]Classic birthday cakes will give you a dose of nostalgia and a sugar high
Childhood memories and vast quantities of sugar. It's a winning combination.On Saturday, more than 1
...[详细]'Games for girls' shelf nails the ridiculousness of gender stereotypes
What's a good game for a girl? Beats us.It certainly escapes the comprehension of JB Hi-Fi employee
...[详细]Mars is the brightest it has been in a decade: Here's how to see it this weekend
The planet Mars is closer than it has been since November 2005, so get ready for some serious skywat
...[详细]Pole vaulter claims his penis is not to blame
Following the cringeworthy moment in which pole vaulter Hiroki Ogita's penis grazed the bar and he f
...[详细]Full Unreal Engine compatibility coming to Google's Daydream VR
Game and app developers already working inside of virtual reality will be able to port existing apps
...[详细]J.K. Rowling makes 'Harry Potter' joke about Olympics event
Girl tries to eat corn from a power drill, rips out hair instead
