Lurkers beware: Instagram is testing alerts for when users screenshot your IG Story

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Instagram is playing us like a fiddle. Every time we start to feel comfortable with their current setup, Zuckerberg drops something spicy enough to keep us hooked. Every Instagram update generates a lot of online gossip, with discussion everywhere from Twitter to Buzzfeed. Just a week ago, I wrote in Marketing and Growth Hacking about the new text options on Instagram.

Instagram has confirmed to Tech Crunch that they are testing a feature that alerts users when someone screenshots their Instagram story. For now, only a small portion of Instagram’s 800 million monthly users users have access to this feature. It’s a weird feature to launch to a limited audience, because 99.9% of the platform still has an unrestricted and “unregulated” ability to lurk and screenshot stories.

Thankfully, Instagram has been kind enough to warn the users that are part of the test group. Here is a tweet with the message that Instagram shows these users:

Just for fun, I took time to brainstorm the pros and cons behind Instagram releasing this feature to its entire platform, which would bring the tech giant one step closer to Snapchat.

Pros:

• Digital marketers and brands will learn which accounts regularly screenshot their content.
• Instagram would be able to roll out analytics about screenshots, which would show brands which stories receive the most screenshots.
• I’ve seen accounts invite users to screenshot their stories by stating, “get ready to screenshot our next image”. I have seen the Instagram account for the University of Ottawa ask students to screenshot their event schedule for the week. Gary Vaynerchuck’s Instagram account offers fans the chance to screenshot images to use as motivational — and branded— phone wallpapers. I don’t think that many people have considered integrating screenshots into their Instagram strategy. If used correctly, this can be a way to increase your brand recognition from Instagram stories, despite their temporary nature.

Cons:

• This gives everyone one more reason to complain about Instagram becoming a Snapchap clone, and these complaints are getting annoying 😂
• I often screenshot stories from my friends and lifestyle bloggers as a reminder to myself. If I see enough friends eat at a trendy new lunch spot, then I’ll screenshot someone’s story as a reminder to schedule a lunch date there. If Instagram rolls out this feature, then I would definitely be more cautious about screenshotting a story from a casual acquaintance or a professional connection.
• Presumably Instagram is testing this feature before giving it to everyone because they are worried that it will cut down on engagement. My hunch is that engagement won’t go down and that Instagram will continue to reign supreme in the 15–25 demographic.

Kathryn LeBlanc works in digital marketing and then writes about it. Her writing can be found on LinkedIn, Medium, and Vice. Tweet at @kat_leblanc to say hello ✌️

Thanks for reading The Marketing & Growth Hacking Publication

Follow us on Twitter. Join our Facebook Group. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Get our best stories in your inbox by following us below.

If you enjoyed this story, please recommend 👏 and share to help others find it!