New York, Apr 14 (IANS): Facebook's photo-sharing app Instagram has surpassed Snapchat in daily active users of "Stories" feature, though the format was first launched by Snapchat in 2013.

According to a report in Forbes on Thursday, Instagram's "Stories" feature is now used by more than 200 million people every day -- an increase of 50 million since January.

On the other hand, Snapchat who launched the "Stories" format in October 2013, had 161 million daily active users in February.

"Stories" feature is an ephemeral chain of photo and video clips with filters and special effects. More recently, Facebook and WhatsApp also introduced the feature, imitating Snapchat.

"Instagram Stories appears to have directly hampered Snapchat's user growth since its debut. Snapchat attributed its slowing pace in part to issues with Android updates and increasing competition. However, Instagram's impact on the chat app seems undeniable," the report noted.

On May 10, the focus will be on Snapchat's user growth when Snap reports first quarter earnings.