Instagram adds what photos have always needed: words

Instagram will now let you add text to your photos right from the post editor, meaning you won't need to edit your photos in a separate app just to add some text. A bit of text might help your post stand out from the rest of the photos on your feed - or help people see information that might otherwise get lost in your caption.

From the post editor, you'll also now be able to layer another photo on top of a photo as a sticker. When you tap on that layered photo, you can change its shape from a rectangle to a square, circle, heart, or star, according to Instagram's blog post. This feature seems fun to me - I suspect people will find some clever ways to use this in their photos.

Reels and stories are getting some text improvements, too. There are new fonts, as well as effects and animations that you can add to text to make them pop.

The updates follow a slew of recent Instagram product improvements, including a test of a Snap Map-like feature, a way to add songs to your profile, and the ability to share 20 slides in one Instagram post.