Instagram has added the ability to comment on Instagram Stories, and many people now use these ad hoc posts more often than traditional posts. Previously, replies to an Instagram story sent a private message that could only be seen by the person who posted the content. Adding comments adds a more public way to respond to a story. However, the possibility to comment is more limited at first: Only people who follow the poster and who reply to the poster can comment. In this video, Instagram explains how most of its features work.

Like Stories, comments are temporary and can last up to 24 hours, Instagram spokeswoman Emily Norfolk said, adding that users can choose to turn comments on or off for any story they share. It is not clear whether comments will be filed after a story item expires, but we have asked Instagram to clarify. Instagram has steadily added new features to surfaces such as wheels and stories that seem to suggest that the company considers them key places for user engagement with friends, not only casual content intended to be rolled through. At the beginning of this summer, the platform "Notes" (essentially comments) disappeared in the grids and rollers aimed at more aware of how your friends interact with the content.

As the notes disappear, ends after three days, and users can choose people who can see their notes or the list of planned close friends. Temporary notes are overlaid on top of posts, highlighting friends' comments. Instagram also announced today that some likes on posts will now be more visible as floating hearts, similar to how they appear on disappearing notes.