Have you checked out the latest Insta Story update yet? If you have, what did you think of it? and if you haven’t, we’ll give you a spoiler: it changes how users interact with other people’s Stories.

Instagram recently launched ‘Private Story Likes’, the new way to likeStories without sending a DM to the profile. TheseInsta Story likes are private and do not have public counts. Only the person who shared the story can see the likes received.

Before the update, the only way to react to someone’s Story was by writing a message in the Story’s box or sending an emoji reaction. Both of them were delivered in the user’s DM inbox.

This Insta StoryFeature was announced on Valentine’s Day via Twitter by Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO. According to him, the purpose of this update was to clean upDMs and to make sure people could express more support for each other.

The feature was already available for Beta testing users, but now it has been updated and expanded to over 1.2 billion Instagram active users worldwide.

Insta Stories were first launched in 2016 as a feature against its rival, Snapchat, but later on the Meta platform took over. In fact, Stories are currently shared by a third of Instagram users, around 500 million active users per day.

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How the Insta Story likes work

When your friend, favorite content creator or any other Instagram user shares a Story, you will be able to like it through a heart icon between the DM button (paper plane icon) and the reactions icon.

It will look like this:

And if you are the one who shares the Insta Story and someone likes it, you will not get a DM but a pop up on the notification’s section:

You can also keep track of all the likes received on the viewer sheet of your Insta Story. When you tap on your own Story, there will be a heart icon on top of the viewers that liked it. Remember this information is private and only you can access it.

This privacy feature follows the possibility of hiding like counts on posts, a feature Instagram has been testing for years. Even though the likes on the main feed are displayed by default, users can opt to hide them on their own posts. In contrast to this, Story likes cannot be public.

The reason behind the Insta Story update

While some people have considered the InstaStory Likes an unnecessary and minimal change, many Instagram users have expressed their contentment with the update, as it definitely cleans up the DMs section.

Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri explained at the beginning of the year that messaging was a key priority for Instagram and an important piece of it, is focusing DMs on the conversations between people. In other words, Messages will be for messaging.

Would this mean tag notifications will also disappear from the DMs and be relocated to the notifications tab? Let's see how Instagram updates evolve. Meanwhile, you can follow Stagazer’s Instagram and blog to catch up with the latest trends, news and resources about influencer marketing.

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Other Instagram updates launched recently

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, had explained how the platform would focus on four areas in 2022: video, transparency, creators, and messaging. The latter is related with the Insta Story likes update, while many of the most recent Instagram features are also related to the other 3 areas.

This way, some of the latest Instagram features are:

-Creator Lab

-Live Moderator and scheduled Live

-Security Checkup

-3D avatars

Creator Lab

Instagram recently introduced Creator Lab, an educational portal “for creators, by creators”. The platform already had the @creators account,Instagram’s official profile for content creators, but now they are going further with the Creator Lab as a resource hub.

The website shares short videos with tips and advice from selected content creators. The subjects include content strategy, brand/personal identity, community building and growing, tips for your Insta Story, and more. According to the Meta-owned platform, one of the hub purposes is to help content creators reach new heights on Instagram.

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Live Moderator and scheduled Live

Being on a live streaming requires managing a lot of things simultaneously, which can be very difficult. Instagram acknowledged this and has launched the Live Moderator feature.

The owner of the Live can assign a Moderator, who will be able to report comments, turn off commenting ability for specific viewers and even remove viewers entirely. After the Live, the content creator can check out theModerator’s actions and take additional steps -like blocking accounts- if needed.

An additional feature for Live videos is the possibility to announce an upcoming Live on Instagram profile’s. They will be highlighted, which makes it easier to remind the audience of Scheduled Lives in the future.

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Instagram’s Security Checkup

Instagram had previously launched Security Checkup for users with hacked accounts, but now it is available worldwide.

This menu will guide people into securing their account, which includes creating a secure password, checking log-in activity, adding recovery information (phone number or email) and two-factor authentication.

Go to your Insta profile, If you want to have a look at it and tap on the menu in the upper right corner, followed by settings > Security >Security Checkup.

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3D avatars for Insta Story and DMs

Back in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg’s company launched 3D avatars for Facebook and Messenger. Since the beginning of 2022 they are also available on InstagramStories and Direct Messages, while they have also been upgraded on FB andMessenger.

The 3D avatars for Instagram are currently available in theUnited States, Canada and Mexico, with more countries getting this feature during the next few months. This move is definitely a step closer to the company’s idea of Metaverse, as Meta’s users are allowed to appear virtually in stickers, feeds, profile pictures, Insta Story and even in its Quest VR platform.

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Final thoughts

Instagram is one of the largest social networks worldwide and they are always trying to innovate and go beyond the trends. From functional and design features like Insta Story likes or 3D avatars, to privacy/security updates like Live Moderator or Security Checkup, the platform is constantly evolving.

And just as Instagram is moving forward, creators have to evolve with the platform and the industry. If you want to get started on content creation professionally or if you are an influencer and want to improve your strategy, we encourage you to contact Stargazer and take advantage of this creator's momentum. Let's get in touch!

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