Instagram Stories can soon be used as WhatsApp Status; feature likely under testing

Back in October 2017, Facebook offered the users of Instagram the flexibility to share their Instagram Stories directly on Facebook. Following the same, Facebook appears to be looking forward to bring this flexibility to WhatsApp as well.

According to a report by TechCrunch, the company is currently testing to let users post their Instagram Stories directly to WhatsApp in the form of WhatsApp Status. Notably, both WhatsApp Status and Instagram Stories are inspired by the Snapchat feature that lets users share edited photos, videos and GIFs. These statuses will automatically vanish after 24 hours just as in Snapchat. The report adds that an Instagram Story that is posted on WhatsApp as a Status will also be encrypted similar to the rest of the messaging app.

The report quotes a spokesperson stating that they are always testing new ways to enhance the user experience on Instagram and make it simpler and easier for users to share any moment with the people around them who matter the most to them.

The report goes on stating that the ability to post Instagram Stories on WhatsApp is under testing within a limited number of users. Users of Instagram will get an option to share the Stories on WhatsApp from the Instagram sharing screen and on tapping this they will be taken to WhatsApp Status. Over there, they need to hit 'Send' to post the story on WhatsApp as a Status.

A post by a local blog called TecnoBlog in Brazil that has been reporting several such sightings in the past has posted a picture with the Instagram Story on the left and the WhatsApp Status of the same on the right. Notably, the shared WhatsApp Status appears to have an Instagram icon at the bottom right corner.

There could be a few reasons for Facebook to choose to make the Instagram Stories shareable on other platforms such as WhatsApp. The first one could be to add more functionality and make the Instagram Stories those have become quite popular more usable. According to Facebook, there were over 300 million daily active users of Instagram Stories and this number outshines that of the Snapchat product that was the first one of this sort. Apparently, letting users share the same on WhatsApp will let the company generate more traffic, especially in the markets where WhatsApp is highly popular. The other reason could be to increase the usage of WhatsApp Status.

On the whole, the ability to share Instagram Stories and use them as WhatsApp Status will let Facebook increase its overall user engagement and traffic as well. This way, the company might attempt to destabilize Snapchat and other platforms.