Instagram is testing a feature that will notify users when screenshots are taken of their Stories. The trial isn’t available to everyone; although some users have reported that they are being notified of the feature being put in place.
The notifications are somewhat similar to what Snapchat has in place. Users are presented with a new camera shutter icon with a counter under each of their Instagram Stories. Effectively telling people how many people have taken a screenshot, and who those accounts were.
It’s difficult to tell how much effect this feature will have on the behaviour of Instagram users. Revealing screenshot attempts could possibly result in fewer Stories being viewed, but that is unlikely. That said, anonymity is very important to a lot of people using the internet. The threat of piercing that veil could deter some normal behaviour and reduce user interaction.
PSA: How you get notified on Instagram when someone took a screenshot of your Stories pic.twitter.com/Iua2QeyskF
— iz reading On the Edge of Scandal ? (@readbyher) February 11, 2018
Screenshot notifications are not new in Instagram either. The platform already alerts users when a screenshot is taken of a private direct message; which is something reasonable for privacy concerns. Not everyone has reacted to this new test feature just yet; but it looks like it will be business as usual for Instagram.
[Source: Techcrunch]
