{"id":105383,"date":"2025-07-23T15:36:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T14:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=105383"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T14:36:34","slug":"are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; user-select: auto;\">A feature which first appeared in tests over a year ago is still being spotted by users for the first time.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>Instagram\u2019s ad test<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Instagram has been quietly experimenting with unskippable ads, dubbed \u201cad breaks\u201d, for over a year now. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/6\/3\/24170682\/instagram-unskippable-ads-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Verge<\/a> first reported these tests in June 2024, users are still spotting the feature for the first time as recently as this week. At least, according to posts from both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/711304\/instagram-enshitification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Verge<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Instagram\/comments\/1m6atb1\/adbreak_feature\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reddit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what are the new ads like? These ads interrupt your scroll or story swipe with a five-second pause. There\u2019s no skipping, just a countdown timer telling you when you can get back to your feed. They pop up between posts, stories, and reels just like regular ad placements. However, these ads seem far more disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"reddit-embed-bq\" style=\"height:500px\" data-embed-height=\"740\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Instagram\/comments\/1d5r0lq\/new_garbage_feature_is_being_tested\/\">NEW GARBAGE FEATURE IS BEING TESTED<\/a><br \/> by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/FireCubX\/\">u\/FireCubX<\/a> in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Instagram\/\">Instagram<\/a><\/blockquote><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.reddit.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<h3>Users aren\u2019t thrilled<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/instashit.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-105384 lazyload\" width=\"196\" height=\"449\"\/><figcaption><em>Image credits: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/711304\/instagram-enshitification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Verge<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s unclear whether Meta is rolling out these ads or still testing them. However, it is clear that the feature is highly frustrating for users. Thomas Ricker for The Verge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/711304\/instagram-enshitification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote that<\/a> seeing three of these unskippable ads in the span of two days is accelerating his \u201cdesire to quit the platform\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, after already being inundated with ads every second post or story, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Instagram\/comments\/1m6atb1\/adbreak_feature\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one Reddit user said<\/a> the feature was the \u201cpoint at which I uninstall the app\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Could the music industry benefit?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For artists and marketers, this controversial ad format might be worth noting. If ad breaks become standard, they\u2019ll offer a unique slot for promotional content that users literally can\u2019t skip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five seconds isn\u2019t much, but it might just be a large enough window for a catchy hook, striking visual, or a memorable lyric.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is still a risk though. If users grow increasingly frustrated and actually leave Instagram, that means fewer fans to reach in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>What happens next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no official news of a rollout, or whether they\u2019re still being tested. It might stay a niche experiment, or it could be a new way for Instagram to monetise its platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On one hand, these five seconds could turn out to be valuable for advertisers and musicians alike. Alternatively, it could just be a reason that annoys people into leaving the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/how-to-upload-music-to-instagram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RouteNote partners with Meta to get your music featured in music libraries across Instagram and other social platforms. Start uploading your music for free today!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A feature which first appeared in tests over a year ago is still being spotted by users for the first time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":105385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30244],"tags":[6207,30759,30001],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A feature which first appeared in tests over a year ago is still being spotted by users for the first time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1031\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"616\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Marshall\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RouteNote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"RouteNote\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RouteNote Blog\",\"description\":\"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png\",\"width\":1031,\"height\":616},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/\",\"name\":\"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e512a3fafd6de61ce9cb3b849be2bf9f\"},\"headline\":\"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":416,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png\",\"keywords\":[\"instagram\",\"instagram ads\",\"Instagram update\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Social Media News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e512a3fafd6de61ce9cb3b849be2bf9f\",\"name\":\"Tom Marshall\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/326cafa08d11e20ee9f53b0004b9ad03?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/326cafa08d11e20ee9f53b0004b9ad03?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom Marshall\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/tom-marshall\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog","og_description":"A feature which first appeared in tests over a year ago is still being spotted by users for the first time.","og_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/","og_site_name":"RouteNote Blog","article_published_time":"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1031,"height":616,"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Marshall","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"RouteNote","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"RouteNote"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","name":"RouteNote Blog","description":"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png","width":1031,"height":616},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/","name":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram? - RouteNote Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram?"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e512a3fafd6de61ce9cb3b849be2bf9f"},"headline":"Are unskippable ads coming to Instagram?","datePublished":"2025-07-23T14:36:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-23T14:36:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#webpage"},"wordCount":416,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png","keywords":["instagram","instagram ads","Instagram update"],"articleSection":["Social Media News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/are-unskippable-ads-coming-to-instagram\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e512a3fafd6de61ce9cb3b849be2bf9f","name":"Tom Marshall","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/326cafa08d11e20ee9f53b0004b9ad03?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/326cafa08d11e20ee9f53b0004b9ad03?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Tom Marshall"},"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/tom-marshall\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-153530.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}