The social media platform is launching a new update to its popular feature, which allows users to share a post for a 24-hour period before it gets deleted.

So far, if you replied to an Instagram Story it would send a private message which was only visible to the person who shared the content.

Now, users can add a public comment to Stories providing both they and the original poster both follow each other.

In the same way as Stories themselves, comments are also temporary and last for 24 hours.

As reported by The Verge, a spokesperson said users will be able to turn comments on or off for any Story.

Meanwhile, Instagram has also announced taht some likes on posts will start to appear in a more prominent way by displaying as floating hearts, which is similar to how they work on disappearing 'notes'.

This feature - which came to grid posts and Reels - was intended to put more focus on how friends engage with content.

Disappearing notes vanish after three days, with users given the freedom to choose who can see their notes.