Instagram Stories for 60 seconds! Longer Stories format under testing

Instagram Stories is testing a new 60 seconds format to accommodate longer stories and posts. Meta-owned Instagram is yet to announce anything officially.

Instagram Stories testing 60 seconds duration with few users.  (Pixabay)

Instagram Stories could be getting longer soon! Currently, Instagram allows you put up stories for a maximum duration of 15 seconds. However, some users around the world are getting an experimental feature wherein they can upload Stories of up to 60 seconds. Note that this is an experimental feature and Instagram is yet to announce this officially, and make it available for everyone across the globe.

The longer version of Instagram Stories was first noted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, who shared a screenshot of the banner seen in Turkey. Users will now be able to upload Stories for up to 60 seconds duration. This is a massive step-up from the previous 15 second duration that limits these to several short format stories.

Instagram Stories takes it name literally

As of now, the longer duration of Stories has only been seen under testing on Instagram. It remains to be seen whether the 60 seconds format for Stories is carried over to the other Meta-owned properties; namely WhatsApp and Facebook. Usually, a new feature on any of these platforms is often replicated on the others.

Instagram is testing longer stories segments of up-to 60 seconds

Spotted by @yousufortaccom in Turkey pic.twitter.com/6LJ2Rjqbpz

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) December 15, 2021

The longer 60 seconds duration for Instagram Stories comes as a good news for those who post long format videos or monologues. Currently, Stories spanning longer than 15 seconds are automatically divided in segments of 15-seconds as the next next “Story”. With 60 seconds of duration, it could help content creators in a major way.

The longer duration for Instagram Stories could be an attempt to woo more users from rivals services such as Snapchat and TikTok. However, Instagram already has its Reels feature to take on TikTok's short format videos, with a similar amount of AR filters and media tools.

In related news, Instagram announced shutting down its Thread app a few weeks ago. Thread was supposed to take on Snapchat by allowing users to post and send Insta Stories without opening Instagram. The app later fused direct messaging, allowing users to