Instagram Confirms Testing Unskippable Ads, Says Always Trying to Drive ‘Value for Advertisers’: Report

As per the report, the unskippable ads are labelled ‘Ad break’ and last for five seconds.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 5 June 2024 16:00 IST

Instagram Confirms Testing Unskippable Ads, Says Always Trying to Drive ‘Value for Advertisers’: Report

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Souvik Banerjee

The unskippable ads reportedly show up in the home feed after scrolling a certain number of posts

Highlights

A Reddit post shared details about the unskippable ads earlier
Instagram says it is not confirmed to be rolled out to all users
Instagram is calling it a “new way of seeing ads”

Instagram has reportedly confirmed testing unskippable ads on its platform after several users posted about seeing them recently. Earlier, a Reddit post highlighted these 5-second-long ads labelled as “ad breaks”, that users could not scroll past. Now, as per a report, a Meta spokesperson has said that the company is testing newer ways to drive value for advertisers. However, there is no confirmation that the test will lead to its wider implementation across the platform. Notably, ads have existed for a long time on the Meta-owned platform, but users have always been able to scroll past them.

Instagram Confirms Testing Ad Breaks

According to a report by TechCrunch, Instagram has confirmed the testing of these ads. A company spokesperson told the publication, “We're always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers.” However, it also added that the testing was being done just to assess its performance and user sentiment and in case it was to be rolled out to a wider user base officially, the company will provide updates.

Holy moly! Meta seemingly is now forcing us to watch ads in our feeds on Instagram!

The app legit stopped me from scrolling past this ad which is just a bonkers move to me. pic.twitter.com/740EXjGyl2
— Dan Levy ✡ דניאל לוי (@TheDanLevy) June 1, 2024

After the Reddit post, several other users have also come across these ads. X (formerly known as Twitter) user @TheDanLevy also posted about these ads and shared more details about them. Calling it a “bonkers move”, the poster showed that these ads are labelled as ‘ad breaks'. As shown in the screenshot, there is an info icon next to the label which opens a bottom sheet with the title “You're seeing an ad break”.

Underneath that, a text described this feature and stated, “Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you keep browsing.” For now, it appears these ad breaks are limited to a 5-second period, however, a couple of users have also claimed to have come across 10-second-long ads.

The reaction of netizens toward these unskippable ads was generally negative, with many claiming it to ruin their in-app experience. Some users have also resorted to closing the app when the ad shows and restarting the app immediately as a way to avoid seeing them. “I hope they know people will leave,” said a frustrated Reddit user.

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Further reading: Instagram, Instagram features

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More