Instagram launches Private Story Likes so users can respond to Stories with a ‘heart’

It’s the go-to social media app for millions of people around the world, and now Instagram has launched a new feature within its Stories tool.

Launched on Valentine’s Day, the Private Story Likes tool allows you to respond to Stories with a ‘heart’, rather than having to send a direct message (DM).

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said: ‘The idea here is to make sure that people can express more support for each other, but also to clean up DMs a little bit.’

Previously, users had several options when replying to Stories, including sending a direct message, or through ‘quick reactions’.

While the quick reactions – which include a surprised face, flame and clapping hands – can be sent with the tap of a button, they come through to the recipient as a DM.

The new Like option is still as easy to use, with a single tap of a button, but unlike quick reactions, will not come through as a DM.

In a video posted to his Twitter, Mr Mosseri explained: ‘We’re rolling out Story Likes – the ability to like any story you see on Instagram.

‘Now as you go through Stories, between ‘Send Message’ and that little paper airplane, there will be a heart icon.

‘If you tap on it, it’ll send the author of that story a like, and that like will show up in the viewer sheet, not in your DM thread with them.

‘So you can do so without worrying about cluttering up your messages.’

If you post a Story yourself and want to see who has liked it, simply go to the viewer sheet for that Story and you’ll see a heart icon from any viewer who liked it.

Mr Mosseri added: ‘I said at the beginning of the year that messaging was a key priority for us, and a big piece of that is focusing DMs on the conversations between you and the people you care about.’

The news comes shortly after Instagram announced that its highly-requested chronological feed is finally making a return.

Mr Mosseri confirmed the news during a hearing before a Senate subcommittee, saying that the platform is ‘actively working on’ it.

The timeline for the launch remains unclear, although Mosseri said it is likely to be ‘in the first quarter of next year.

Instagram followed on from Mr Mosseri’s hearing with further information on Twitter.

‘We want people to have meaningful control over their experience,’ it explained.

‘We’ve been experimenting with Favourites, a way for you to decide whose posts you want to see higher up, and we’re working on another option to see posts from people you follow in chronological order.’