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Instagram debuts a new look

Instagram is getting a makeover. The popular photo and video sharing app debuted an updated icon and app design Wednesday.

Previously, Instagram's familiar icon was a beige, retro-looking camera with a small rainbow stripe decorating an upper corner. The new, redesigned icon is a simpler outline of the camera, filled in with bright pink, purple, and orange hues.

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Instagram's redesign places more emphasis on photos and video. Instagram

"We've made improvements to how the Instagram app looks on the inside as well," the company said in a blog post. "The simpler design puts more focus on your photos and videos without changing how you navigate the app."

Instagram emphasized how the app has shifted from just being a way to share fun photos with friends to a "global community of interest sharing more than 80 million photos and videos every day."

In addition to the main Instagram app, the updated, streamlined look will be applied to the company's other creative apps like Layout, Boomerang, and Hyperlapse.

As is the norm when a popular social network alters its look or changes a familiar feature, users were quick to share their responses -- both positive and negative -- on social media.

For its part, Instagram made a point to thank its users for making the app so popular.

"Thank you for giving this community its life and color," Instagram wrote. "You make Instagram a place to discover the wonder in the world. Every photo and video -- from the littlest things to the most epic -- opens a window for people to broaden their experiences and connect in new ways."

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