Instagram Spotted Testing a Dedicated Tab for Story Highlights on the Profile Feed
Elr0mpev0la (Reddit) / Featured Stories
Instagram is moving Story Highlights to their own dedicated tab on user profiles, according to screenshots shared by a Reddit user.
How It Works
Elr0mpev0la (Reddit) / Featured Stories
Per the screenshots, Featured Stories (Story Highlights) will appear on the profile grid starting November 12th, along with a new dedicated tab. This tab will be positioned between the regular grid and Reels tabs.
Creators will be prompted to review their Stories and choose which ones to feature on the grid. Additionally, they will have the option to edit their profile and remove Featured Stories from the grid entirely.
Why It Matters
Although Instagram has yet to make an official announcement, head Adam Mosseri hinted at this feature during a summer AMA session, suggesting the possibility of merging the profile grid and Story Highlights.
This update enhances the profile layout by positioning Stories alongside feed posts and Reels, potentially increasing visibility for this content format. With more prominent placement, creators may be encouraged to curate their Stories more strategically to capitalize on the added exposure.
Additionally, this aligns with a previous Instagram test where select users had a vertical profile grid. While the test received mixed feedback, it makes sense given that most content on Instagram is uploaded in a vertical format. Now, with the addition of a dedicated tab for Stories—at least for some users at the moment—it makes even more sense.
Iterating on Story Highlights
Instagram has quietly been testing and rolling out several other Highlight-related features over the past year. These include larger cover images for Story Highlights, the ability to link Reels to Highlights, and displaying recent Highlights directly in the feed.
