Yes, Instagram Stories is a "copy" of Snapchat : video content of up to 10 seconds or photos with a maximum viewing time of 10 seconds, which is only available for 24 hours and which you can also edit by adding text, emojis, lines, etc.
And no, Instagram Stories and Snapchat don't "work" the same , because although the base is the same, the tools of both platforms differ.
Just when it seemed like 2016 was going to be "the year of phone number library Snapchat," Instagram arrived and on August 2nd launched its Stories, directly into the social network's "hot" waterline. Time will tell to what extent Instagram Stories achieves its goal of preventing user churn, stealing members from its competitor, and increasing usage time on its own platform (dozens of articles have already been written on this topic in the last four weeks).
Posting content on Instagram Stories significantly increases a user's/brand's relevance and awareness within the social network : their avatar appears prominently at the top of the Instagram feed, thus increasing their recognition. On Snapchat, you have to go to the second screen to find out who has posted content in the last 24 hours. On Instagram Stories, you appear prominently, just after Instagram changed its algorithm to make the news feed no longer chronological. Want to increase brand awareness on Instagram? Use Instagram Stories.
You don't need to follow the profile to view Instagram Stories. On Snapchat, you can only see posts from users you've added as a friend. On Instagram, you can view stories from any profile or page, even if you don't follow them: just go to their account and check if their profile picture has a pink circle. It's easier and simpler to discover and view stories on Instagram Stories than on Snapchat.
Views on Instagram Stories are higher. And I'm obviously not saying this based on any official statistics (which don't exist), but rather on my own experience (which could also be wrong). Content posted on Instagram Stories generates at least three times as many views as on Snapchat. Probably because Instagram has 500 million active users compared to Snapchat's 150 million (and growing rapidly, that is).