It’s generally unsafe to take group selfies during a pandemic, but Apple might have a way to make that work in the future. The iPhone maker has received a patent (via Patently Apple and The Verge) for creating a “synthetic group selfie.” You could invite people to a selfie session where the software would place people as if they were right behind you. The pics could include recorded or even livestreamed videos, and the participants could edit the shots to put themselves front and center.

Don’t count on this popping up soon. Apple first filed for this patent in July 2018, well before COVID-19 became an issue. There’s also no guarantees that patents will translate to finished products — Apple is exploring an idea, not producing a roadmap. Given the pandemic, tough, we certainly wouldn’t rule out remote group selfies as a way of connecting friends who can’t be together.

Today, Instagram is rolling out new Layout feature that will let you include multiple photos in a single story. When you open the Stories camera and select the Layout option, you’ll be able to choose between two and six photos to combine in a grid-based collage.