Unskippable ads are an increasing threat on smartphones and streaming boxes – and if you thought Instagram was safe, think again. The social media giant has just confirmed that it is testing unskippable YouTube-style ad breaks.
A few in the past few days stunned Instagram users (like @TheDanLevy below) posted screenshots showing a pop-up called “Ad Break” with a countdown timer (like below). And unlike typical Instagram ads, you can’t scroll or swipe past these; you have to wait until the ad is ready.
Unfortunately, these are unlikely to be isolated cases. Instagram has now confirmed this in a statement TechCrunch that it is testing the new format ahead of a possible wider rollout. “We are always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers,” said a Meta spokesperson.
We don’t know yet what Meta’s rollout plan is for the ‘Ad Pause’ feature, but it doesn’t sound good. “As we test and learn, we will provide updates should this test result in formal product changes,” the spokesperson added worryingly.
Holy mole! Meta is now apparently forcing us to watch ads in our feeds on Instagram! The legit app stopped me from scrolling past this ad, which to me is just a crazy move. pic.twitter.com/740EXjGyl2June 1, 2024
A message on Reddit’s Instagram subreddit has shed some more light on Meta’s new plan. Apparently, when you click on an info icon in an ad, it says: “You’ll see an ad break. Ad breaks are a new way to see ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before continuing browsing.’
That doesn’t sound like a feature destined to remain an experiment among a minority of Instagram users. Judging from early reactions on social media, this could be the final push some need to leave the increasingly watered-down and confused social media platform.
Sign of the times
Placing unskippable ads on Instagram somehow feels like crossing a line compared to seeing them on, say, YouTube.
If you watch YouTube on your smart TV, you’ve noticed that the commercial breaks have gotten longer over the past year. YouTube rolled out so-called ’30-second non-skips’ to its most popular channels in May 2023 and even started testing pause screen ads.
But shorts aside, most YouTube videos are longer than Instagram Stories and some people are still on Instagram to (gasp) see photos. Instagram’s tested non-skippable ads may only last a few seconds, but they’re essentially taking over your smartphone’s screen when you’re in the app – and it remains to be seen if this will impact the bottom line of Instagram will actually improve.
As noted by the BBCA recent study from TikTok shows that non-skip ads can negatively impact engagement, making them a net negative for social media platforms. Let’s hope that’s the case here again, otherwise we’ll really have to move on in search of the best Instagram alternatives (something we’ve been promising to do since, oh, at least 2021).