[Photo source : Flickr]

Instagram has unveiled the Questions Sticker feature that will integrate a Reddit AMA format on Stories. The new feature will allow users to answers questions from story-watchers through a later post, according to Sarah Gray, writing for Fortune magazine. 

The Facebook subsidiary is touting the feature as a means of starting a conversation when there is no video or photo to be shared among users. It is also a way for users to continue posting even if they have run out of ideas. 

To activate the Questions Sticker, users have to select the question sticker found on the sticker library. They then type in their prompt and add the sticker to the photo or video being posted to their story. There is a text box on the sticker for those watching a story to type in their questions which can be found in the bottom left-hand corner where users can know who have seen their story. To answer a question, users can tap it to create a new story with an answer. Users will be able to know who asked them a question to prevents trolls from concealing their identities. On the other hand, followers will be anonymized when their questions are made public on the story. 

The Questions Sticker is the latest to be incorporated in the app, where as many as 20 features have been rolled out since the start of 2018. It has similarities with Instagram Direct, which promotes conversation by allowing users to reply privately to story-watchers, and Instagram Polls, which fosters public engagement on Stories. 

The feature is likely to encourage better engagement among Instagram users although it could be abused by cyberbullies. It would be interesting to see how Instagram deals with such unpleasant incidents on its site which has 400 million daily active users, twice that of Snapchat’s.