A hot potato: Instagram has long been accused of stealing features from platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter/X. It appears that the company has looked to YouTube for its latest idea: unskippable ads that you have to watch for a period of time before being able to scroll further.
A Redditor posted images of the Instagram ad breaks. FireCubX writes that users will suddenly find they have hit the bottom of their feed, so to speak, and can't scroll down any further. An "ad break" icon will appear with a countdown timer that prevents users from browsing through more content until they view an ad, at which point the counter starts running down.
NEW GARBAGE FEATURE IS BEING TESTED
byu/FireCubX inInstagram
Tapping the icon brings up more information about the new feature. It shows a message that reads, "Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you can keep browsing."
Instagram owner Meta has confirmed that it is testing the unskippable ads. "We're always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers," a company spokesperson told TechCrunch. "As we test and learn, we will provide updates should this test result in any formal product changes," they added.
Instagram is already packed with sponsored posts and ads on the home feed and Stories. The introduction of unskippable content is going down about as well as one would expect on social media, with several users warning it could harm Instagram due to so many people simply closing the app once one of these ads appears. Many say they would stop using the app entirely if the ads become widespread.
Holy moly! Meta seemingly is now forcing us to watch ads in our feeds on Instagram!
– Dan Levy â¡ �"× ×Â×Â× ×Â�*× (@TheDanLevy) June 1, 2024
The app legit stopped me from scrolling past this ad which is just a bonkers move to me. pic.twitter.com/740EXjGyl2
Unskippable ads are a major element of YouTube, which introduced 30-second commercials that can't be skipped last year. But most viewers are willing to sit through an ad on the platform if it means seeing a video they want to watch. It's unlikely that many will endure them just to continue doomscrolling on Instagram.
Instagram generated advertising revenues of $11.3 billion in 2018, $17.9 billion in 2019, $22 billion in 2020, $32.4 billion in 2021, and $16.5 billion in the first half of 2022 – more than what YouTube brings in from ads.
The unskippable Instagram ads are still just a test, so Meta might decide that rolling them out to all users isn't worth the backlash – but don't hold your breath.