Instagram could be introducing unskippable ads to the platform

Doom scrolling on Instagram may soon no longer be possible, as reports suggest the social network is testing an ‘Ad Break,’ feature which will include an unskippable ad with a countdown lasting 3 to 5 seconds.

The platform has always been free to use and while paid-for posts are visible in the feed, users can scroll past them along, unlike the potential new introduction.

A screenshot of the feature was shared by someone on X (formerly Twitter) and it reads: “You’re seeing an ad break. Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you can keep browsing.”

Got the Instagram “ad break” again & this time I clicked the info button to see their explanation

So abusive to their users to do this pic.twitter.com/BrzndbSvNk

— Dan Levy ✡ דניאל לוי (@TheDanLevy) June 1, 2024

Another social media fan took to Reddit to share the screenshot of the ad break they received when scrolling and said: “Coming soon for everyone. This’ll be the last straw for me when it comes to Instagram. I could stand the plethora of ads sprinkled throughout the entire app already, but unskippable? Gtfo.”

While the Meta-owned company hasn’t yet publicly shared the news about the feature, it appears they’re testing it first on a small number of accounts before potentially rolling it out for the masses.

If brought in entirely, revenue for Instagram could rise substantially as they’ve always used advertising as the monetization model. With unskippable ads, they’ll be able to

Unskippable ads aren’t going down well with consumers

No one wants to sit through an advert if they didn’t have to before, so understandably people aren’t happy about the slow introduction.

“Closed the app immediately when the ad break popped up and will continue to do so. Thanks Instagram for the handy pop up that reminds me I have something better to be doing,” said a Redditor.

Another thanked the platform for getting them off their phone: “Ends up making me do the exact opposite of what they want by closing the app when I come across one. So thanks for helping me reduce my screen time IG! Smart move.”

Featured Image: By Dan Levy on X