Can You Mute Instagram Stories?

Instagram's newest feature, Instagram Stories, made its debut yesterday, and all the people on my friends list are already sharing up a storm with their slideshow-like creations. The feature quickly appeared to be well-received, but it's always good to know if you have the option to opt out — so, can you mute Instagram Stories, should you not want to see any at all?

Bustle has reached out to Instagram for comment and will update this post if we hear back; however, at the time of this writing, the answer seems to be no — you cannot mute Instagram stories. Unlike adjustable settings — like the one that allows you to make your profile private or public, for example — stories doesn't seem to be something you can choose to take or leave. But here's the good news: Not only are Instagram stories pretty unobtrusive (appearing at the top of your newsfeed), but you don't even have to look at them if you don't want to. In order to view someone's story, you can either tap on it from the bar at the top of your newsfeed, or navigate directly to someone's profile and tap on their profile picture. (You'll know if a story is available to watch by the colorful ring around the user's profile picture.)

So, while you may not be the biggest fan of Instagram Stories, it shouldn't disrupt your Instagramming one bit. It's a smart move on Instagram's part. While an update to an app might be a great one, there will always be people who don't like change, period.

Many people have drawn similarities between Instagram and Snapchat after this recent update — particularly thanks to the fact that stories disappear after 24 hours, a move which seems to come right out of Snapchat's handbook. But hile the features may be similar, the overall purposes of the platforms will likely always remain markedly different. Snapchat made a name for itself due to its short-lived content, while Instagram is more of an online, social media photo album.

With stories, the overall look, feel, and functionality of Instagram really hasn't changed that much; it just adds another neat toy to play with. And who doesn't like new toys?

Images: Instagram; Giphy