Twitter set to release photo filter feature before year end

Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey has posted images to the micro-blogging site that feature photo filters and frames fuelling speculations that Twitter could be releasing its own photo filter feature in the near future.

A report by AllThingsD states that Twitter may be making a big push in the imaging front for its mobile applications where it will introduce a range of photo filters that can be used inside the official Twitter application. This move is expected to come via an update to the app that will be issued before the end of this year.

Jack Dorsey posts image on Twitter

The report by AllThingsD states that Twitter's aim is to release camera filters in an application update in time for the holiday season, sources familiar with the matter have informed them. The sources went on to state that the app is currently in testing and Jack Dorsey has posted a range of images of black and white filtered photos on his Twitter profile and this further indicates that the app is in the works. AllThingsD reached out to Twitter for a comment, but they failed to provide one.

The report states, “Why push it out before the new year? Perhaps Twitter wants a cut of the inevitable jump in photos we’ll see as everyone goes home for the holidays. Instagram, for instance, saw more than 200 Thanksgiving-related photos posted to its service every second on Thanksgiving Day alone, and ten million Thanksgiving photos posted overall that day. I’d imagine that number will only leap come Christmas and New Year’s.”

Another image with a black and white filter

It had been recently reported that the Instagram versus Twitter tussle had reached new heights with Instagram disabling a feature that’s left their images on Twitter not showing up properly.

More and more users have been noticing that when a tweet containing an Instagram link is opened, either the images are displayed incorrectly or they seem badly cropped.

Twitter put up a status explaining the issue, “Users are experiencing issues with viewing Instagram photos on Twitter. Issues include cropped images. This is due to Instagram disabling its Twitter cards integration, and as a result, photos are being displayed using a pre-cards experience. So, when users click on Tweets with an Instagram link, photos appear cropped.”

Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom at the Le Web conference in Paris mentioned that Instagram’s relationship with Twitter is undergoing a change, but the service will remain integrated with Twitter in some form or the other. The main focus behind this move seems to be to push users to view images on Instagram’s own website.

"Really it's about where do you go to consume that image, to interact with that image. We want that to be on Instagram," said Systrom said at the conference. "What we realized over time is we really needed to have an awesome Web presence."

Instagram had started rolling out Facebook-like profiles on the web in early November. The profiles are mainly modelled over the Facebook timeline, with cover photos and the profile picture feature looking identical. The cover photo though runs recent images almost like a slideshow. Users can heart an image or comment on it - these web profiles were something Instagram users had been waiting for.