Instagram today announced that more than 150 million people now use its Snapchat-like Stories feature on a daily basis, and now the company is looking to monetize that user base with the introduction of full-screen ads.
Just like Snapchat, Instagram will sometimes add a 5-second photo or 15-second video ad in between stories when a user watches more than one in a row. The video ads in particular are set to autoplay with audio. The good news: each ad can be skipped by swiping on it, according to TechCrunch.
Instagram said it will begin testing the ads over the coming weeks with over 30 global brands, such as Airbnb, Capital One, Buick, Nike, Netflix, and Qantas. In the future, the company said the ads may be tappable, enabling users to proceed to an advertiser's website to purchase a product or learn more information.
Instagram Stories enables users to share personalized photos and videos with their followers that disappear after 24 hours.
Top Rated Comments
Nothing worse than popup, intrusive ads.
Next step, unskippable ads.
But guess what? We all get precisely what we’re paying for.
If they offer a 'Remove ADs' in-app purchase option, I'm straight up deleting this app.