Now you can like a user’s Instagram story without sending a DM. Instagram has rolled out a new feature, “Private Story Likes,” that allows you to Like people’s stories.
Currently, there is only an option to react to stories by sending an emoji or a message that shows in the inbox. However, with this new feature, users can react to the story without sending a message to that person.
The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri announced the rollout of the new feature via video on Twitter.
Now Like People’s Instagram Story Without Sending a DM
Now, users can like a Story by tapping the heart icon, similar to the regular feed post. The like button is placed between Send Message option and the airplane icon of sending a DM. However, the Private Story Likes feature will not count as regular posts. It will appear in the viewer sheet.
❤️ Private Story Likes ❤️
Starting to roll out today, you can now send some love by liking people’s stories without sending a DM.
Likes on stories are private and do not have counts. Rather, they appear as hearts next to people’s handles in your Stories view sheet. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/l56Rmzgnnw
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 14, 2022
Mosseri said, “So now, as you go through Stories, between send a message and that little paper airplane, there will be a heart icon. And if you tap on it, it’ll send the author of that story like, and that like will show up in the viewer sheet, not in your DM thread with them.”
The latest feature was rolled out as a part of efforts to improve the messaging experience on the app. Last year, Mosseri announced that the app will focus more on messaging and will double the work on controls to improve transparency while listing the general goals of the company for 2022.
The users will not see a public count on Stories, though they can see who all have left a like on their Stories when they see the view sheet or the list of people who saw the story.
How to See Who Liked Your Stories?
The “Like” on your Instagram Story shows up in the viewer sheet. Follow the steps to access the viewer sheet:
- Open the Instagram app (make sure you have the latest version)
- Click on the story icon in the top left corner.
- You will see another user’s profile icon that shows someone has viewed your story.
- Tap on the icon to see who viewed your story. To see the names of the viewers swipe up from the bottom.
- If someone has liked your story, you will see a heart next to their name.