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Instagram moves to bolster video feature with Luma acquisition

Trevor Mogg
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instagram moves to bolster video feature with luma acquisition
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Two months after Instagram introduced video to its popular app, the company has made its first acquisition, snapping up video-sharing app Luma. The news came via a notice on Luma’s website, though no mention was made of the terms of the deal.

The team behind the 18-month-old app said joining Instagram was a big step towards the realization of its “mission to make capturing and sharing beautiful videos easy without expensive software or heavy equipment.”

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The Luma app has already disappeared from the iTunes store, though the team said it’ll continue to offer support until December 31 for those who still wish to use it – questions, comments, and requests for technical support can be made by firing off an email to support@luma.io. In addition, any users who want to download their videos can do so via this page.

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Luma’s software gave users access to a range of filters as well as basic adjustment functionality enabling control over brightness, contrast, saturation and so on. It also came with some pretty nifty image stabilization technology, which could of course be incorporated into Instagram’s app to help improve its existing Cinema stabilization feature.

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Facebook-owned Instagram added video to its app back in June, a move many believed was in direct response to Twitter’s Vine app, which lets users share videos of up to six seconds. Instagram’s offering gives users 15 seconds to play with.

The takeover of Luma will give the company access to talent and technology aimed at bolstering the app’s video functionality as it takes on an increasing number of competitors entering the mobile short-video space, including the recently launched MixBit, the work of YouTube creators Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.

As for the folks at Luma, for them a new chapter begins.

“A heartfelt thanks goes out to every user, family member, investor and friend,” Luma wrote on its website, adding, “We couldn’t have achieved this milestone without your help. We hope to see you on Instagram!”

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Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
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