With the ever increasing use of social media, particularly Instagram, it is important to understand the implications of how one uses the app. Many users nowadays are unaware if people can see when they share someone’s Instagram story as a direct message to a friend. This article looks at the issue of privacy surrounding sharing stories with direct messages, and the implications of this action.
1. What is an Instagram Story?
An Instagram story is a feature on the popular social media platform that allows you to share all the great moments of your day, as they happen. It only lasts 24 hours, then disappears, so you don’t have to worry about it cluttering up your main profile timeline.
To create an Instagram Story, simply open your Instagram app and go to the square icon in the top left of your screen. It’s the same icon where you post normal Instagram updates. From here, you can select photos and videos from your camera roll, take a photo or video with your device’s camera, or use Boomerang to create fun GIF-like images. Once you’ve selected an image or video, you can add text, stickers, drawings and GIFs to make it your own. When you are finished you can share it with everyone who follows you and it will appear on their Stories feed fullscreen.
Benefits of Instagram Stories:
- Easy to post and doesn’t take long
- Creative way to engage with your followers
- Gives followers insight into your day to day life
- Moments last only 24 hours, so there’s no need to fear it cluttering your profile timeline
Sharing Instagram stories as a direct message is a way to privately share a snap or story with someone else without publishing it for your entire followers list to see. To do this, you must send it to anyone directly through a direct message. Here is how to do it:
1. Start with a Story
First, take or upload a story that you want to send, either via photo or video. You can add stickers or text, edit the photo/video, or draw on it. Furthermore, you can choose from other effects depending on what your device supports.
2. Send the Story
When you’re done editing and have the story the way you like it, you can then choose to either send it to all your followers or to a select few via direct message. To share it as a direct message, open up your direct messages window and type in the name of the person you want to send it to. Then, add the story to your direct message.
3. Send to Multiple People
You can also send your story to multiple people. Simply click the “New Message” button and start typing in the names of the people you want to send it to. You can also add it to existing conversations you have with one or more of your friends. When you’re finished, click “Send” to send the story to the people you’ve selected.
If you want to share another user’s Instagram story as a direct message, here are the steps you need to follow:
- Open the story: Click on the profile of the user whose story you want to share, and then open their story. When it’s open, click on the “Direct” icon in the lower left corner of the screen.
- Select a recipient: You’ll then be asked to select a recipient. Enter the username of the person you want to send the story to, or select them from your contact list.
- Send the story: When the recipient is chosen, you’ll just need to click the “Send” button to share the story directly to the user’s inbox. The story won’t be shared publicly or to any other users.
Bear in mind that not all users allow their stories to be shared by other users directly. If you try to share a story that can’t be shared, you’ll see an error message saying “This Story can’t be shared as a message”.
If you’d like to share a story in another way, you can always take a screenshot and send that to the person you want to show it to. Just be aware of the fact that the user may be sent a notification, letting them know that you took a screenshot.
Sharing someone’s Instagram Story as a Direct Message (DM) is a great way to send personalized messages without posting it to your profile. Doing this has several benefits, including:
- No Sharing Restriction: When you share an Instagram Story as a DM, it bypasses the sharing restrictions set by the user. For example, if a post is set to ‘Friends-Only’ on their profile, sharing it as a DM will not be blocked.
- Personalized: Since you’re not broadcasting it to your entire network, you can post a more personalized message when sharing an Instagram Story as a DM. It’s a great way to start a conversation and share content with a small group of people.
- Private: DMing an Instagram Story keeps it private so it won’t appear in public feeds or show up in search results. This ensures only people with whom it is shared see the content and offers a degree of privacy that is otherwise not present when broadcasted on the platform.
To share an Instagram Story as a DM, viewers need to first tap the paper plane icon on the bottom right of the post. Then, they can select one or multiple people to share the post with. Alternatively, they can tap the “Share To…” option and select “Direct” from the list.
If you received a DM with an Instagram Story shared by someone, you can simply tap the message to open and view the post. Depending on the sender’s settings, you may also be able to respond to the post with your own comments and stories.
5. Pros and Cons of Sharing Someone’s Instagram Story As a Direct Message
Pros
- Sharing someone’s Instagram Story as a direct message gives you an opportunity to respond quickly and reduce the time it takes for your recipient to view the story
- It allows you to send a private message to someone even if they don’t follow you
- The person who sent the message won’t be able to see if the other person has viewed their story
Cons
- The recipient will only be able to view the shared story once and won’t be able to access it later
- If you don’t want everyone who follows the person you’re sending the message to see your shared story, you should send it as an individual message
- Sending someone’s Instagram Story as a direct message may be viewed as intrusive or overly familiar
Sharing someone’s Instagram Story as a direct message can be a useful tool to quickly share content with someone. However, it should be used judiciously and with consideration of the recipient’s feelings. It may be best suited for when there is an urgent need to share the story or if you are sure the recipient will appreciate being sent the message.
It is important to remember that the privacy settings of the story will stand, regardless of whether it is shared as a direct message or not. Therefore, always be aware of the visibility of the stories you are sharing and their possible reach. All in all, sharing an Instagram story as a direct message to a friend is a great way to have meaningful conversations and share snippets of life.
