New Instagram update rolled out! Now, you can like Stories without sending DM

A new Instagram update is rolling out a feature that will allow users to like Instagram Stories without sending a DM. This means if you 'like' anyone's photo/videos shared on Instagram Stories, it won't show up in your DM thread. The development was announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri via a video on Twitter. He said, "So now, as you go through Stories, between sending a message and that little paper airplane, there will be a heart icon." He further added that tapping on the heart icon will send the author of that story a 'like', which will show up in the viewer sheet instead of your DM thread with them. The Instagram feature is called 'Story Like'.

As of now, any response shared by a user on Instagram Stories shows up as a response in the chat thread of the user along with a direct link of the story itself. However, with this new feature, Instagram users can show their appreciation for the Stories of their friends and their favourite creators without cluttering their DMs.

These likes will show up in the users' viewer sheet similar to the one where you see the likes and comments shared by others on a user's post. This will declutter users' Instagram feeds and hence will clean up DMs a little bit.

The Meta owned photo sharing app regularly adds new features on its platform to enhance users' experience. Prior to the Story Like feature, the app has introduced 3D Avatar's feature in the US, Canada, Mexico. The same will be made available in all countries soon.

Know how you can see who liked your stories:

How to check who liked your Instagram Stories

1. Open the Instagram app and head to your stories available in the top left corner.

2. Tap on the seen by options at the bottom of the story and you will see the user's profile icon who has viewed your story.

3. Scroll down the viewers list. You will see a heart emoji next to the name of those who have liked your story.