Oh, Instagram is testing ads and you can't skip them

Meta, the company that owns Instagram, is testing ads that can’t be served on its platform, according to multiple sources. Reddit And x Users (via Mashable).

Dubbed “adbreak,” the feature forces various brands of ads onto the screen for a few seconds, preventing users from scrolling through the app.

“Ad breaks are a new way to view ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before continuing browsing,” reads the feature’s prompt.

The platform is only testing this feature for a few people, as none of the Android Central staff have experienced these bottlenecks on the app.

Until now, Instagram has displayed ads between posts or stories that users can easily scroll past. However, according to this Reddit thread, this non-skippable ad situation is just getting on the nerves of users.

“Ad break” ie. No longer skip ads on Instagram From r/Instagram

One user said that these ads are definitely a business decision and if it continues, they will leave the platform.

“I hate this new “feature” so much – it feels in your face and like a terrible business decision to me. The whole platform is already basically “soft ads” that people have been there for ages. generates revenue based on living, consuming content without thinking about it all and now they are forcing users to stop scrolling and focus on the fact that they are on an app that they Things are made to sell.”

As a workaround, the user said they “close the app as soon as the ad break pops up, and if it continues, I’ll unsubscribe.”

While other users on the same thread said they would “100% skip/uninstall the app.”

One good thing that could come out of this “ad break” is that it would give users a break from going down the Instagram rabbit hole for hours, causing unwanted delays.

Huzur Molly! Meta is apparently now forcing us to see ads in our feeds on Instagram! The legality of the app prevented me from scrolling past the ad, which is just a cowardly move for me. pic.twitter.com/740EXjGyl2June 1, 2024

Instagram first introduced ads to its feed in 2022, but it’s not yet clear when the social media company will roll out these ad breaks to more users. However, the non-skippable ads hint at an upcoming premium subscription for the app—where users will have to spend more money to skip them.

Android Central has contacted Meta about this, and they did not get back to us in time for publication. We will update this article once we have more information.

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