Instagram's latest feature aims to increase user interaction within Stories: the social media platform now allows followers to comment on each other's Stories, creating a more community-focused experience similar to livestreaming where users can take part in larger discussions.
Several users have already noticed the feature, including marketing strategist Taylor Lauren (@taylor.loren on Threads), and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a screenshot to his company's channel (see below).
Instagram said users can also disable the option to post comments on Stories if they wish.
Image credit: Instagram
The new feature appears to be inspired by user behavior: Instagram head Adam Mosseri has previously said that the Stories format is one of the app's most popular features, and is more widely used than posting content to the main feed. Private messaging has also been very well received by many users who prefer to interact in closed groups with friends.
The addition of public commenting to Stories is part of Instagram's ongoing efforts to boost engagement on the platform. It recently added the ability to add music to your profile. It also has a new feature called “Reveal,” which will allow users to hide their Stories and only make them visible after followers send them a DM.