Instagram has added a new, simple way for users to engage with Stories content with Stories likes which enables you to ‘like’ any Story in your feed.
❤️ 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
As demonstrated by Instagram chief Adam Mosseri in the video above, at the bottom of your Stories view in the app, you now see a new heart icon, which, when tapped, will send the creator of that Story a like.
These Instagram Stories likes are not public so only the creator will be able to see them in their Story insights, with a small heart icon added next to the viewers’ name in the view listing.
This update moves Instagram Stories more into line with TikTok-style short video clips, which rely on user engagement signals for both ranking and engagement.
