Instagram Direct is a new way to share Stories

Though Instagram’s Stories is already more popular than Snapchat, the photo-sharing service won’t stop introducing more ways to share them. In May, it introduced location and hashtag Stories so they popped up more in Explore. Now, Instagram is taking it a step further and will now allow you to share other people‘s Stories through Direct messages.

Sharing a Story is as simple as sharing a normal Instagram photo. Simply tap a direct icon at the bottom right, choose who you want to send the Story to, and hit send. Of course, as a Story only exists for 24 hours, the recipient had better check it quick before it goes away.

Instagram describes this as a relatively harmless feature that lets people share interesting Stories in DMs. But it sounds a little creepy, especially if you tend to think of your Stories as intended only for your followers, not other people.

Thankfully, Instagram has included an opt-out in settings, and if you have a Private account, only your followers will be able to see the Story through Direct messages. The feature is rolling out globally starting today, to both iOS and Android.