Advertisement
Engadget
Why you can trust us

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.

Instagram tests new design for Stories on desktop

The new look is a lot less clunky.

Browsing Instagram Stories from your desktop may soon be a bit easier: Instagram is testing a new design for Stories on its website that gives the feature a much-needed facelift. With the new look, Stories appear in a carousel rather than a single tile that takes up the entire page. Navigation is still the same — you can manually click through the Stories or let them play automatically — but it’s now easier to keep track of where you are in your queue.

Instagram is testing a new look for Stories on desktop.
Instagram is testing a new look for Stories on desktop. (Screenshot/Instagram)

It’s not clear exactly how many users are seeing the new look, or if the change will become permanent. A spokesperson confirmed the test, which began appearing to a “small group” of Instagram users last month, but didn’t comment on when it might be more widely available.

Though the company has slowly improved the functionality of its desktop site, Stories has always felt clunky and ill-suited to larger screens. So while  this may not be the biggest change, it will be a noticeable improvement for anyone who spends a lot of time browsing Instagram outside of its app.