Instagram appears to be testing a new TikTok-like vertical feed for Stories, spotted by users in The US, Turkey, and Brazil.
Instagram is now testing a new vertical scrolling design for Stories with a small group of users. The vertical feed, which the platform started to develop back in February 2021, gives a more TikTok-like experience to users.
Related | Instagram Starts Testing Private Story Likes
Social media commentator Matt Navarra first reported the new test when some users in Turkey received an update on Instagram, which brought a vertical feed to Stories on their apps.
As it appears, the new design lets users see more Stories from the same user by scrolling through horizontally and skipping to the next user’s content by swiping down.
https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1481333910743232517
Instagram isn’t only testing the vertical mode for Stories in Turkey. Brazilian tech journalist Thássius Veloso also reported seeing the same update.
The change comes as the platform competes with TikTok for users’ attention. Since its inception, the rival app and most visited online destination have based its video viewing experience on the vertical scroll, and Instagram has also been slowly focusing on pushing video formats within Stories rather than static content.
Moreover, among Instagram’s latest copycat features bringing the app closer to TikTok, in December the platform began testing the possibility to extend Stories’ time limit from 15 to 60 seconds.
New ways Instagram is looking to improve its user experience include the recent addition of a new option in testing that would allow users to edit their grid’s arrangement by freely choosing in what order their published content is displayed on their profile pages.
Instagram has also recently introduced new options for its users to choose how they see content on their feed, offering a renewed chronological feed. And more recently, the Meta-owned company started testing the option to privately like Stories.
It remains unclear whether the platform will begin rolling out these features any time soon or if it will launch or suppress them in the first place. But that’s the nature of testing features before a wider release.
Meanwhile, Twitter has already been testing a vertical, full-screen experience for its Explore tab since December.
You might also like
More from Instagram
Instagram Introduces Search Ads Via Its Marketing API
Instagram Search Ads are now available to all advertisers via the Instagram marketing API. Just two months after it began to …
Instagram’s New Twitter Competitor Revealed
Instagram's rumored text-based Twitter competitor still does not have a name, but now we know what it might look like. The …
Instagram Now Lets Everyone Use GIFs In Comments
Instagram is now letting every user comment on posts and Reels with GIFs. I think we can all agree that if …
You Can Now Add Songs To Your Instagram Photo Carousels
Instagram says it is testing a new feature that lets users add songs to the photo carousels they share on …
Instagram Now Lets You Add Up To 5 ‘Links In Bio’
Instagram is rolling out a new feature for adding up to 5 'links in bio' - a feature doomed to …
Instagram Collaborative Collections Are The New Way To Save And Share Content With Your Friends
Instagram is introducing a new 'Save posts with friends' that lets you create a collaborative collection for you and your …
Meta Verified Service Goes Live In The US
Want to get the coveted blue verification checkmark on Facebook and Instagram? If you're in the US, now you can. …
Instagram Is Testing A ‘Top 3’ Sticker To Boost Engagement
According to reports, Instagram is testing a new Top 3 sticker for Stories, allowing users to highlight favorite accounts, places, …
Facebook And Instagram Start Selling Blue Checks With Meta Verified
Meta Verified will give you a blue check badge on both Facebook and Instagram, along with other benefits for $12 …
