At its best, the new feature ensures that your friends don't miss an outrageous Kardashian mirror selfie. At its sneakiest, it starts a ruthless gossip chain or creeping mission amongst your squad. Regardless of how you plan to use it, the newest IG update allows you to direct message an Instagram story from someone, either to another user or even to a group, for better or for worse. The feature was released on Tuesday morning and will roll out worldwide in the forthcoming weeks.
"Sharing a story in Direct is as easy as sharing a post from your feed," according to a press release from Instagram. And it's super easy and intuitive to use. Simply tap the direct icon in the bottom right corner of the story, select a friend or group to share it with, then tap send.
But this doesn't mean you can save the ephemeral photos and video forever: "When someone shares a story with you, you will see it in your Direct inbox," the Instagram blog post explains. But, "when the original story disappears from the app, it will no longer be available in your message thread."
Does the idea of others sharing your Insta stories in a DM make you uneasy? That's alright — you can turn of the ability for others to send your story elsewhere. And, if your Instagram account is private, only your followers can send the stories. Plus, even if they're sent out to others, only your followers can view them.
For any additional questions on the ins and outs of direct messaging an IG story, you can always check out the Instagram help center for more info.
As invasive as this might seem, it's not as if it's been impossible in the past to save someone else's Instagram story and send it back out again. Hackers always find a workaround where apps fall short, so the new update is just making it a bit easier for casual IG users to share content around.
Since the launch of Instagram stories in August of 2016, the app has been making gains on it main competitor, Snapchat. Both apps allow for disappearing photo and video messages, in one-on-one and story formats, complete with stickers, geotags, and face filters. Snapchat offered story sharing in September of last year, and Instagram's only now catching on.
With this new IG option, just remember: With great power comes great responsibility. Creep, stalk, and DM wisely, friends.
Check out Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries:
