How to Allow Comments on an Instagram Story

Want to turn your Instagram Story monologues into conversations? Allowing replies is the simplest way to boost your engagement, get direct feedback from your audience, and build a stronger community. This guide will walk you through exactly how to enable story replies, use interactive features to encourage them, and manage the conversations that follow.

First Things First: It's "Replies," Not "Comments"

Let's clear up a common point of confusion. Unlike Instagram feed posts or Reels, which have public comments underneath them, Stories don’t have a public comment section. When you "allow comments" on a Story, you are actually enabling replies. These replies are sent directly to your Direct Messages (DMs) and are private conversations between you and the user.

This is an important distinction. A public comment can be seen by everyone, while a Story reply is a one-on-one interaction. This privacy encourages more honest and personal feedback, making it an incredibly powerful tool for connecting with your followers.

How to Allow Story Replies on Instagram: The Main Setting

Your ability to receive Story replies is controlled by a single setting in your account's privacy options. You can choose to allow replies from everyone, only from people you follow, or from no one. Here’s how to find and adjust it step-by-step.

1. Go to Your Profile: Open the Instagram app and tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner to navigate to your profile page.
2. Open the Menu: Tap the "hamburger" icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Settings and Privacy": In the pop-up menu, tap on the first option, "Settings and Privacy."
4. Find "Messages and story replies": Scroll down through the options until you find the section labeled "How others can interact with you." Tap on "Messages and story replies."
5. Tap "Story replies": Inside this menu, you’ll see an option for "Story replies." This is where you control who can communicate with you through your Stories.
6. Choose Your Audience: You will see three options:
   • Allow story replies from everyone: This is the recommended setting for most businesses, creators, and brands. It opens the door for anyone who sees your Story - including people who don't follow you yet - to send you a message. This maximizes your potential for engagement and new connections.
   • Allow story replies from people you follow: This setting restricts replies to accounts that you are personally following. It's a good option if you want to keep your inbox more private and only hear from a select group of people or brands.
   • Don't allow story replies: This option completely disables the reply function on all of your Stories. Viewers will still see your Story, but the "Send Message" field at the bottom will be gone.

Once you select an option, the change is saved automatically. The next Story you post will use this new setting.

How to Change Reply Settings for a Single, Active Story

What if you want to change the reply setting for a Story that's already live? Maybe you posted something sensitive and want to turn replies off, or you posted a question and forgot to turn them on. You can adjust the setting for an individual Story without changing your account's default setting.

1. View Your Active Story: Tap your profile picture from the top of your feed or on your profile to open your current Story.
2. Open "More" Options: While viewing your Story, tap the "More" icon (three dots) in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Select "Story Settings": A menu will pop up from the bottom. Tap on "Story Settings."
4. Adjust Replying Permissions: This will take you to a dedicated settings page for that Story. Scroll down until you see the "Replying" section. Here, you can choose between "Everyone," "People You Follow," or "Off" just for this specific Story.

This granular control is great for when you want to make a one-time adjustment without messing up your default preferences.

Beyond "On" or "Off": Using Stickers to Spark Conversations

Simply turning on replies is just the first step. To truly unlock the power of your Instagram Stories, you need to give people a reason to respond. This is where Instagram's interactive stickers come in. They go beyond a simple DM and actively prompt your audience to engage.

The Question Sticker: Your Direct Line for Feedback

The "Ask me a question" sticker is one of the most effective tools for generating engagement. Don't be limited by its default text, you can customize it to ask anything.

• How to Use It: Create your Story, tap the sticker icon at the top, select the "Questions" sticker, and type your prompt.
• Relatable Examples:
  • A Marketing Agency: "What's your biggest social media struggle right now?"
  • A Fitness Coach: "What's one fitness myth you'd like me to address?"
  • A Coffee Shop: "Suggest a new seasonal drink flavor for our spring menu!"
• Pro Tip: Actively share and answer the responses you get to your next few Story slides. This shows you're listening and encourages more people to participate next time.

The Poll & Quiz Stickers: Make Engagement Easy

Sometimes, typing out a full reply is too much to ask. Poll and Quiz stickers give your audience a low-effort way to interact with just a single tap. They’re fantastic for quick feedback and market research.

• How to Use Them: Tap the sticker icon and select either "Poll" or "Quiz." For a Poll, you provide two custom-named options. For a Quiz, you add up to four options and select the correct answer.
• Relatable Examples:
  • A Fashion Brand (Poll): Show two different t-shirt designs. "Which design should we release next?"
  • A Real Estate Agent (Quiz): Show a picture of a unique home feature. "What architectural style is this?"
  • A SaaS Company (Poll): "Which feature should we work on next? A) New dashboard or B) More integrations."

The Slider Sticker: Gauge an Emotional Response

The emoji slider is a fun, visual way to measure sentiment. You choose an emoji and ask a question, and your audience slides the emoji to express their feeling or level of agreement.

• How to Use It: Choose the "Slider" sticker, pick an emoji that matches your question's mood, and write your prompt.
• Relatable Examples:
  • A Musician: Share a 15-second snippet of a new song with the prompt, "How much are you feeling this new track? 🔥"
  • A Food Blogger: Post a picture of a spicy dish with, "How spicy do you like your food? 🌶️"
  • An E-commerce Store: Show a new product and ask, "How excited are you for this drop? 😍"

Why Allowing Story Replies Is a Non-Negotiable Strategy for Growth

If you're still on the fence about allowing replies, consider the strategic advantages. This isn't just about getting more notifications, it's about building your brand and business.

1. It Skyrockets Engagement and Signals Your Value

The Instagram algorithm pays close attention to how users interact with your content. Every reply, sticker tap, and reaction is a positive signal telling the algorithm that your content is valuable. Higher engagement can lead to your Stories being shown to more of your followers and even appearing in the Explore page, expanding your reach organically.

2. It's Free, Immediate Market Research

Want to know what your customers think? Just ask. Use Stories to gather instant feedback on product ideas, content pillars, branding concepts, and more. A simple reply can tell you more than a lengthy survey. Asking your audience for their opinion makes them feel valued and gives you priceless data to inform your business decisions.

3. It Turns Followers into a Community

Replying to followers' messages turns a one-way broadcast into a two-way relationship. When someone takes the time to reply to your story, they are opening the door for a connection. Responding promptly and personally makes them feel seen and heard, transforming them from a passive viewer into an active member of your community. These are the people who will become your most loyal fans and customers.

4. It Generates Qualified Leads

Every story reply is a potential lead. If a user asks a question about a service you mentioned or a product you featured, you have a direct, private line of communication to guide them toward a sale. It's a much warmer interaction than a general comment on a public post. You can continue the conversation right in your DMs, answer their specific questions, and build the trust needed to make a conversion.

Final Thoughts

Enabling comments on your Instagram Stories is a simple technical step that unlocks a profound strategic advantage. It shifts your content from a passive broadcast to an active dialogue, providing the raw material for building a community, gathering feedback, and growing your personal or professional brand.

As you get more replies, making sure you can manage all those interactions in your DMs, plus comments across your posts, can get tricky. To keep conversations from falling through the cracks, we built a unified inbox at Postbase that brings all of your Instagram DMs and comments - along with the interactions from your other social platforms - into one clean, organized feed. This makes it simple to stay on top of community engagement without having to constantly switch apps.