Instagram is testing a new interface for Stories that puts them all on one page to give the feature a central focus in the app.
The layout shows Stories both on the home page and on a separate one as well. Once users open the app, they’ll see two rows of Stories at the top of the page. In this area there’s a button that reads ‘See All Stories.’
Once you click on this button, you’ll be directed to a new screen where you will see rows and rows of all of the currently available Stories.
The feature was first spotted by a social media manager on Twitter, who posted screenshots of the new layout.
You’ve heard of two rows of Instagram Stories…
Now prepare for “SEE ALL STORIES” pic.twitter.com/vs42wwHuh0
— Julian Gamboa (@JulianGumbo) June 26, 2020
Instagram confirmed to TechCrunch that it is in fact conducting this test with a select number of users. It didn’t provide any other details, but noted that it has been testing the new interface for over a month.
It’s not surprising that the Facebook-owned platform is testing a way to make Stories more prominent, especially since Stories are widely popular and used for advertising as well.
Since this is simply a test, it’s unknown if Instagram will make this new layout official in the future.
Source: @JulianGumbo, TechCrunch
