Instagram is experimenting with “ad breaks,” which display advertisements by temporarily stopping users’ scrolling. According to Instagram spokesperson Matthew Tye, the new feature is being considered and may result in official product changes.
There have been rumours circulating on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) that Instagram is testing a feature that requires users to watch advertisements before they can browse through stories and posts. A Reddit member described their experience, stating that Instagram enforced an ad break that prevented them from scrolling any farther until the ad was shown. A countdown timer and an “ad break” indicator were displayed in a screenshot, along with the time the user had to wait before continuing to scroll.
When users tapped on the icon for more information, Instagram showed a message explaining, “Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes, you may need to view an ad before you can keep browsing.”
Instagram has always included Reels and sponsored posts in its content feed. Unskippable ad breaks, on the other hand, mark a substantial change in their advertising strategy and could cause more user disruption. “We’re always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers,” said Matthew Tye.
This approach mirrors tactics used by other platforms like YouTube, which features unskippable ads before and during videos, and recently extended 30-second unskippable commercials to its TV app. Similarly, both YouTube and TikTok insert ads between short-form videos, though users can typically skip past these ads.