If Instagram Stories have been acting up and you use an iPhone, update the app to fix it. Instagram Stories have been misbehaving for some users on iOS creating it, so they have to review all of someone’s stories before seeing new ones.
The issue has impacted several users since Monday, and some Reddit users have reported the same thing is happening to them. ‘
On Wednesday morning, Instagram released an update for the app in the iOS App Store that seems to have resolved the issue. So if you’re having problems, check for the update and see if your app is on the latest version, 239.1.
Unfortunately, the update notes merely state, “The latest version contains bug fixes and performance improvements.” Still, other staffers and others on social media say it has ended the repeating Stories problem.
Meta spokesperson Christine Pai said the company is “aware that some individuals are having trouble accessing Instagram Stories.” Pai said Instagram is “working to obtain things back to normal as quickly as possible” and apologizes for the inconvenience.
The root issue seems to be that Instagram doesn’t remember where you left off when viewing someone’s stories. It’s unknown how many users have been affected. Many people on Twitter report that they have to re-watch stories, but Instagram isn’t trending like I’d expect it to if a significant feature of it was broken for everyone.
Meta-owned Instagram faced teething concerns with its Stories feature, and many users were gone in the lurch while considering someone’s stories.
Users went to social media forums late on Tuesday as they had to consider all of someone’s stories again before catching new ones. The case also cropped up when someone posted a unique story to their feed.
“Does anyone else have this problem where someone posts a new story, and you tap on it to watch it, and it transmits you back to the first Story they posted and not the new one? Lol, it’s irritating i hope it gets fixed soon,” published one user on Reddit.
Another user stated: “It was ensuing to me, too! i logged out and deleted the app., then reinstalled it, and it is back to functioning naturally, thankfully!”
A Meta representative said that the company is “aware that some people are having a problem accessing Instagram Stories” and was “functioning to get things back to normal as fast as possible.”
Meanwhile, the photo-sharing platform is pushing a new Stories layout that conceals excessive posts. Users can presently post 100 Stories at once.
Currently, it seems that only a small group of users have accepted the update with the new Stories layout, so, likely, that Instagram is still testing these changes before rolling them out to all users.
Instagram Stories allows users to share photos and videos to their Story — which is visible to followers of the user’s Instagram account. Recently-posted Stories are denoted by a gradient border around the user’s profile picture. Like Snaps in Snapchat, Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours.
Your Instagram Story is published separately from the photos and videos found in the tiled gallery of your Instagram profile. And although you might know the basics of sharing them, there are hidden tools within the app that can make the photos and videos you add to your Story more creative and engaging.
How Instagram Stories works?
Instagram Stories allows you to share short videos and images to a temporary “Story.” You can add stickers, time stamps, and doodles to each Story and apply certain filters and effects. If your account is public, your Story is visible to anyone, but if your account is private, your Story is only visible to those who follow you.
Viewers can directly respond to your Story via direct message (DM), but you can also disable replies in your app’s settings. You can also see who’s viewed it by opening up your Story and swiping it on your screen.
Why should you use Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories can drive a ton of engagement and value — whether you’re sharing a Story from a brand account or your profile. You can split a video longer than 15 seconds into 15-second segments and add each component to your Instagram Story, so they play one after another. Here are some mobile apps that can help you make it happen:
- Continual (iOS only): Continual is an iOS app that automatically splits your videos into 15-second segments so that you can upload them to your Story. You also have the option to trim videos for Facebook Stories (20 seconds).
- Storeo (iOS only): Like Continual, Storeo splits up your long videos into 15-second snippets for uploading into your Story. It also allows you to create Facebook Stories. The free version will automatically put a watermark on your Story.
- Story Cutter (iOS): Story Cutter will trim your Story into HD and 4K 15-second snippets. There are no limits to the length of your video, and clips are exported in chronological order, so it’s easy to upload them.
- Story Cutter (Android): Like the similarly-named iOS version, the Story Cutter Android app will let you split videos into smaller segments to upload to your Instagram Story. You can record videos using the app or upload an existing video from your gallery.
- CutStory (iOS only): CutStory is a trimmer for Instagram Stories and an editor. Add effects, templates, and text to your Story before uploading. There’s a free version, but your Story will be watermarked.
How to View Instagram Stories?
When you’re on the Instagram mobile app, Instagram Stories appear at the top of your screen. Because they’re often the first pieces of content users see when they open Instagram, these Stories can get a ton of engagement and help you advertise your regular Instagram photo gallery to more users.
1. Open Instagram and navigate to the home screen: To start viewing Instagram Stories, open your Instagram mobile app and tap the home icon on the bottom-lefthand corner of your screen. Unfortunately, Instagram Stories are not available for viewing on the desktop site. Once you’ve navigated to Instagram’s home screen, you’ll see a series of circular icons along the top, each representing the active Stories posted by the users you follow. These icons are highlighted inside a red square in the screenshot below. As you can see, your own Story is available for viewing (and adding to) on the far left of the Stories you follow.
2. Tap on a circular icon to view that user’s Story: Each circular icon at the top of your home screen will have a gradient circle around it, denoting that the user has recently posted a Story. Tap on it to expand the user’s Story — it’ll either be a photo or a video, and the latter will play automatically once you tap on the Story.
3. Tap to navigate between a Story’s photos and videos: A single Instagram Story can contain numerous individual photos and videos strung together in order of when the user posted them. The first piece of content you’ll see will be the most recent one. Tap your mobile device’s screen to cut to the following photo or video that the user has posted to their Story.
4. Swipe to navigate from one Instagram Story to another: Swiping left and right while viewing an Instagram Story will allow you to shuffle between Stories from different users. When you open an Instagram Story after becoming an Instagram user for the first time, you’ll see the following menu:
- Black menu of finger motions for watching Instagram Stories on a mobile device
- Use the above screenshot as a reference for viewing the Instagram Stories of the accounts you follow.
5. Use an Instagram Story viewer to view Stories privately: Did you know that you can use a third-party tool to view Stories without the user knowing? An Instagram Story viewer allows you to watch Stories anonymously. You might want to do this if you’re scouting freelancers and don’t want them to see you first. In addition, some Story viewers allow you to autosave copies of the Stories, while others will offer a paid option so you can automatically save copies of new Stories.