Instagram is experimenting with a new ad format that will force users to watch entire ads before continuing to browse. This is confirmed Border Instagram spokesperson Matthew Tye made this statement following accidental discoveries on networks that hinted at this news.

Because this is important. Instagram is the third most used social network in the world and this change will represent a significant change in user experience. Until now, users could quickly navigate through ads that appeared among the content they viewed.

These new “ad breaks” will force you to watch the entirety of the ads, something that could lead to expected rejection.

how does it work.

• After a while draftInstagram will show an “ad break” that will prevent further browsing.
• An icon will appear showing the countdown showing the remaining time before continuing.
• A message will state “sometimes you need to see an ad before you can continue browsing.”
• A few users are already seeing such ads as part of the initial testing phase. It was already noticed on Reddit. Also in X.

Context. Networks like YouTube have already adopted non-skippable ads. Before and during videos. Considering Instagram’s move towards video content with Reels, it seems logical that it would explore this advertising model, even if it isn’t popular with users.

between the lines. Meta spokesperson said TechCrunch “They test formats that add value to advertisers.” This suggests that, content aside, there is some pressure on Instagram to increase ad revenue, even if it comes at the expense of the user experience, which has always been great.

Reactions. It didn’t take long for complaints to emerge. The Reddit post in which the finding was published sparked a lot of criticism of this move, both among threats from those who claimed that they would close the app or stop using the network directly if they saw such an ad, and from those who filed lawsuits. The company uses advertising to boost your business at the expense of user experience.

Instagram declined to say where exactly these “ad breaks” would appear in the app and whether the testing would be global or staggered. Reddit screenshots these ads to feed of the application. Now it is not yet known whether the test will be accurate and valid for everyone.

Featured image | via Xataka Midjourney

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