How To React To Instagram Story In 3 Ways

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Here’s how to send a reaction to an Instagram story – open Instagram and tap on the story you want to react to. When the story is open, swipe up and see six emojis appear there. Tap any of these emojis to send a reaction to the user’s story.

Do Instagram (IG) stories confuse you? Stories are a great way to share something for a short time. They also allow people like me to start a conversation based on the user’s story. 

There are three ways to interact with a story, you can either like it, send a quick reaction, or send a message. I use the like feature the most because it doesn’t register as a message.

Read on to learn how to react to someone’s Instagram story.

What To Do Before Reacting To Instagram Stories

Here’s what you need to do before you start reacting to Instagram stories:

  • Ensure your phone is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or mobile data. 
  • Make sure that your Instagram app is up to date. 

3 Ways To React To IG Stories

As I mentioned, you can react to someone’s story on Instagram in three ways. 

By Liking Instagram Stories

Liking someone’s story on Instagram is a quick way to show that you like what they’ve posted. I enjoy this feature because I can do it without much thought.

However, I know that liking someone’s story may have a different meaning for others. According to an article by the magazine Bustle, many people consider liking someone’s story as a form of flirting. So keep that in mind. 

It will take you about 1 minute

Follow these simple steps to like an Instagram story:

  1. Open the Instagram mobile app on your device.

    Instagram app icon inside the social folder

  2. Next, open someone’s story.

    Instagram stories showing above the feed

  3. Tap the heart icon.

    Heart icon at the bottom right corner of the screen

  4. You liked the story.

    Red heart icon showing liked Instagram story

Here’s a video showing you how to like a story on Instagram:

YouTube player

By Sending A Quick Reaction To An IG Story

Quick reactions to Instagram stories are when you send one of six emoji reactions or personalized avatar stickers. Honestly, I rarely send reactions since the like feature was implemented.

However, I know many people still do, especially since Instagram stories have changed dating, according to Vice.  Instagram stories have become a way for people to flirt, express interest, or do more with those they’re interested in.

Here’s how to send quick reactions to stories on Instagram:

  1. In the Instagram app, open the story you want to react to.
Instagram stories showing above the feed inside the Instagram app
  1. Swipe up from the bottom. 
An Instagram story
  1. Select one of the six emoji reactions.

As you can see, I chose the heart eyes emoji. 

Available emojis for Instagram story reaction
  1. Your reaction message will be sent to the person’s direct messages (DMs).
Selected emoji reaction sent as a DM

Here’s a video on how to send an emoji reaction on Instagram:

YouTube player

By Replying To An IG Story With A Message

If you really want to start a conversation via someone’s Instagram story, then the best bet is to send them a direct message. This is the way many people, including me, shoot their shots.

It’s also why Gen-Z are choosing Instagram for flirting over dating apps, according to Time magazine. 

Without further ado, here’s how to reply to a story with an Instagram message: 

  1. Open the story you want to respond to on Instagram. 
Instagram stories showing above the Instagram feed
  1. Swipe up on the story.
An Instagram story showing on the screen
  1. Type your message and press Send. 
Text field to write and send a direct message to the story owner
  1. Your message has been sent
Typed message sent to the story owner

Here’s a video on how to reply to a story with a message:

YouTube player

FAQs

Why can't I react to Instagram stories?

You can’t react to Instagram stories because the user who posted that story has disabled reactions and comments on their stories. This means you’ll have to wait until they reactivate reactions and comments to be able to react to their stories.

How do you tap to send a reaction on Instagram?

You tap to send a reaction on Instagram by going to your Instagram messages and opening the chat you want. In that chat, tap and hold on the message you want to react to and select an emoji reaction from what appears above the message.

Reacting To Instagram Stories – Wrapping Up

Did you like this article?

I like that it’s easy to react to an Instagram story. Whether that’s liking it, sending a quick reaction, or sending someone a message. It can all be done in a few taps. 

Instagram stories have come a long way since the feature was first introduced. Everyone knows that it was inspired by Snapchat stories too. But I, for one, am glad it evolved the way it did. Snapchat also inspired another social media platform to feature its own stories: Twitter Fleets

If you have any questions, be sure to leave them in the comments below. And don’t forget to share this article with your friends, family, and followers. 
We also have a great article on fixing photo posting errors on Instagram if you’re ever having trouble.

About The Author

  • Hemant Mendiratta

    Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

Photo of author

Hemant Mendiratta

Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

2 thoughts on “How To React To Instagram Story In 3 Ways”

  1. My story quick reacts function disappeared. Not referring to the scroll bar in the story which appears in the private message chat but the emoji that pops up on story only. Help!

    Reply

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