Instagram Reportedly Working on Like Button for Stories

Instagram is reportedly working on introducing the ability to like Instagram Stories. Up until now, there has been no such feature and users could only react to Stories, which shows up in their direct messages. The ‘Like’ button is expected to appear on the main Stories page and a user should be able to see the number of likes and the users who post them on a separate interface. It is reported that one user may be able to post multiple likes on one Instagram Story.

Noted developer Alessandro Paluzzi tweeted that Instagram is working on the ability to like a Story. This feature is still under development, according to WhatsApp features tracker WABetaInfo, and cannot be viewed even in the latest public beta. There is no clarity on when this feature will be publicly available but the developers are said to be working on it.

Screenshot shared by Paluzzi shows a heart icon sitting right next to the text bar at the bottom. Clicking on it triggers an animation, and the developer says that users will be able to like one Story multiple times in a future update. WABetaInfo says that the owner of the Instagram Story won’t privately receive a message of the reaction but there is a likelihood of a list where all likes on a story can be seen. The report, however, cautions that since the feature is still under development, everything might change before the release.

Also, if the likes are going to show in a separate list, it remains to be seen if it will be possible to see the likes after the Stories disappear after the 48-hour window.

Instagram is reportedly also working on getting rid of the swipe-up gesture to access links in Stories and replacing it with stickers. Some users have reported that they have received a notification in the app stating this change and that it will be implemented from August 30.