Instagram’s question stickers bring comment-like interaction to Stories

Instagram Stories launched with all the visuals of the Instagram feed but with little interaction — but that is quickly changing with polls, emojis and now, a sticker that feels a lot like a comment tool. Instagram users can now start conversations inside Stories using a new question sticker, announced on Tuesday, July 10 after rumors of the feature leaked last week. The sticker allows users to ask a question, then add the answer to another image inside Stories.

Asking a question inside Instagram Stories follows the same steps for adding a sticker. Inside the sticker options, a new “questions” option brings up a sticker that allows you to type in a question or statement. The question sticker can be customized with different colors, and like other stickers, can be moved around the image.

Viewers can then tap on the question sticker to type in a response without leaving the Story.  The responses aren’t limited either — followers can tap and type responses as many times as they want. Any responses to that question sticker pops up in the same spot where you can view who’s viewed your Story. 

Instagram has also built in a reply feature to keep the conversation going, all within Stories. Tapping on the reply will add a new sticker to your Story with the viewer’s response automatically inside, below the original question. Using another text sticker, you can respond to those viewer comments.

While you will see who has answered the question sticker, if you share the response, the user’s name won’t be attached. You can choose to share an answer anonymously by adding to your Story, or just keep the responses to yourself.

The question sticker isn’t the first time stickers have attempted to add the traditional news feed interactions inside the slideshow-like full-screen Stories format. The emoji slider allows users to ask a question and get a response in the form of an emoji in various sizes. A similar poll sticker allows users to ask a question with two possible answers. Users can still use the message tool accessible when viewing a Story, but the question sticker can make some of those responses public, unlike the Direct messages.

Instagram hasn’t been shy about focusing on Stories — the CEO of parent company Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has already proclaimed that Stories are a focus for the future. The interactive stickers also come with the recent launch of the option to add music inside a Story.

The question sticker is already rolling out, available in version 52 of Instagram on both iOS and Android.