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Just like unskippable ads on YouTube, Instagram is testing a feature that will make users watch an advertisement even if they don’t want to.
Meta is testing a new feature on Instagram called Ad break that will make it impossible for users to skip or scroll past ads on the platform.
Reported by many on social media, the ad break feature puts a timer on an ad while scrolling on Instagram and compels the users to view it until the end.
Instagram spokesperson Matthew Tye told The Verge that Ad break is a new way of seeing ads on Instagram that is being tested to explore new “formats that drive value” for advertisers.
One user on X, Dan Levy, posted a screenshot of the test feature showing an Ad break sign at the bottom of the advertisement with a timer on it. “Meta seemingly is now forcing us to watch ads in our feeds on Instagram!” he said. “The app legit stopped me from scrolling past this ad which is just a bonkers move to me.”
When clicked, the info button next to the Ad break feature shows a screen that reads: “Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you can keep browsing.” The feature is similar to some ads on YouTube that are un-skippable.
In an earnings call in April, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the Facebook and Instagram parent has had “a good start to the year” as it raked in more than $36.4bn in the quarter ended 31 March. This is compared to the $28.6bn that it made in the same period last year.
Its income nearly doubled at more than $13.8bn compared to last year’s $7.2bn. Meta said that its ad impressions – one of its primary sources of revenue – was up by 20pc year-on-year across its family of apps.
Earlier that month, Meta announced a new nudity protection feature on Instagram that will blur any images containing nude content sent to users under the age of 18. Both Facebook and Instagram are currently under EU investigation for algorithms that stimulate “addictive behaviours” in children.
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