Instagram finally added the ability to post comments on Instagram Stories, which had only previously allowed private comments.
Instagram Stories, which have been utilized more so than posts in recent years, will now have a public comment section where people can post and see comments. However, as explained in a video by Instagram on Instagram Threads, only people who follow the story’s poster and who the poster follows back may comment.
According to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, “Friends post a lot more to stories and send a lot more DMs than they post to Feed.”
The comments will only last 24 hours, and the story will be live on the poster’s profile. Users will have the option to turn comments off if they prefer the old private comment system.
The new Instagram Stories comments section can be found at the bottom of any given story, provided the following criteria are met and the user allows for public comments on their stories. This allows the comments to be nonintrusive, as having them flood all over the story screen would surely interrupt the user experience.
Instagram Spokesperson Emily Norfolk confirmed this to The Verge, saying that comments will only last the 24 hours that the story is up. However, whether or not those comments will be archived somewhere on the platform is uncertain.
Instagram has stated that it hopes the new feature will increase user engagement and help build community.
The Instagram Stories update is yet another change focused on increasing engagement
Instagram’s recent updates to the platform demonstrate these hopes for more user engagement and community building. This can be seen in reels in which comments and engagement are encouraged instead of being a video to scroll past.
Instagram also recently added the notes feature, allowing users to post a status that people can reply to, as it appears in the direct messaging section of the app. The notes disappear after three days and can also be posted to reels. People who follow the user and who the user follows back can see the note, much like how the public comment section feature for Instagram Stories works.
The platform’s updates are also meant to compete with the engagement TikTok sees. One of the updates Instagram rolled out recently allows users to add music to notes. One of TikTok’s most vital features is the ability to use music for any post. If a user posts something with a trending track, that post could get way more engagement than if it didn’t have music.
This move by Instagram aims to increase engagement on the app, which, in turn, should lead to increased app usage and overall popularity.
