(Credit: Meta Newsroom)
You can now leave a public comment on Instagram stories, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on his broadcast channel.
The feature is rolling out gradually, and only a few users have spotted it, TechCrunch reports.
Previously, reactions or comments for Instagram Stories were delivered as a direct message. That changes with the addition of comments, which will be visible to all your followers.
There are limits, though. By default, only the accounts you follow back will be allowed to leave a comment. Meta says users can update the default setting to allow "all followers" to comment or customize it for individual stories.
Since stories expire after 24 hours, the same should apply to their comments. On the other hand, if you don't wish to allow comments, you can disable the feature for individual stories or all of them, Meta adds.
Meta's video explaining how the story comment feature works mentions that the comments will "lightweight" but didn't specify the character limit. We reached out to Meta for comment.
Meta pegs the new feature as an easy way to "spark conversations" via Instagram Stories. Beyond comments, the company is reportedly testing a way to introduce ads within Stories.