Instagram opens comments on Stories as a new way to soft-launch your relationship

Instagram has some suggestions for users who want to try out its new feature. The app is adding comments to its Stories format, and lovebirds interested in soft-launching their relationships should take notice.

Comments arrived on Stories on September 3. The feature will bring a public, interactive element to posts that disappear after a set period of time (typically 24 hours). Only mutual followers can leave comments one another’s Stories, and only followers can see those blurbs. Users also have the freedom to turn off comments for any post if they so choose.

A press release describing Stories comments suggests that the feature can be an asset for couples who wish to perform a “soft launch.” The relationship trend — in which new partners are subtly introduced through Stories rather than formal Instagram posts — took off during the early years of the 2020s. Though soft-launching remains quite popular, some proponents have thought up new twists on the phenomenon to prevent it from going stale.

The advent of comments on Stories feels like Instagram’s addition to that discourse. Soft-launchers can use the tool to provide context for curious friends or add new “lore” to existing relationships.

Aside from its influence on de rigueur dating trends, the Stories update is also a welcome addition for one of Instagram’s hallmark formats. Since adopting Stories from Snapchat in 2016, Insta has attracted hundreds of millions of users for its disappearing posts. Despite the format’s popularity, Meta has lately devoted many of its resources to the Reels format, which has emerged as a rival for TikTok.

Meta may be in love with Reels, but if the company is going to soft-launch that relationship, Stories are still the best way to go. The launch of comments is a testament to Stories’ staying power. Let’s hope these replies don’t end up like the ones on YouTube.