Private Story Likes feature allows users to like someone’s Instagram Stories without sending a direct message.

Instagram is launching a new method to interact with Stories. The photo and video sharing platform has introduced a new Private Story Likes function, which allows users to like other people’s Instagram Stories without sending a direct message (DM). Previously, people could simply re-share the stories or leave a remark on them. In addition, responses published on an Instagram Story were visible in users’ DM inboxes. Users can now signal their likes for Stories without cluttering their DM inbox with the latest update.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced the deployment of Private Story Likes capability on Tuesday via a video on Twitter. With the latest version, you may interact with a Story by tapping the heart icon, just like you would with a standard feed article. Tapping the like button located between the Give Message option and the paper aircraft icon does not send the user a DM notice. Private Story Likes, unlike standard Instagram posts, do not display a count. According to Mosseri, they will appear in the viewer sheet rather than in your DM thread with them.

The latest Private Story Likes feature was released as part of Instagram’s ongoing attempts to improve the platform’s messaging experience. Mosseri declared in December of last year that Instagram will focus on messaging and will double down on restrictions to promote transparency, while also announcing the company’s broad aims for 2022.

Instagram introduced a slew of new capabilities earlier this month to make it easier for users to delete posts, comments, and other actions from the network. Users can bulk delete or archive all of their content, including posts, Stories, IGTV, and Reels, as well as interactions like comments, likes, story sticker reactions, and so on. In the Your Activity section, users can also limit their content and interactions by date and search for prior comments, likes, and story replies from a specified date range.