The Instagram Add Yours sticker, launched in October 2021, quickly became a viral hit, with users jumping on board to participate in all sorts of popular challenges and trends. By tapping the sticker on someone else‘s Story, you can respond to the prompt with your own Story post and keep the chain going. Some of the most engaging Add Yours chains have inspired hundreds of thousands of users to share their take on prompts like "show your pet" or "post a pic from 5 years ago."
However, many eager users have found the Add Yours sticker isn‘t working quite as smoothly as they‘d like. Common complaints include the sticker not showing up as an option, freezing or crashing when tapped, or not allowing posts to an existing chain. These glitches have led to frustration as people miss out on the latest Add Yours crazes sweeping the app.
So what‘s causing these issues with the Add Yours sticker? Why are some users still not able to access it? Let‘s dive into the details of how Add Yours works, Instagram‘s rollout process, and troubleshooting tips to get the sticker working for you.
How the Add Yours Sticker Works
The Add Yours sticker is designed to make it easy for users to participate in Story chains and memes. When you view a Story with the sticker, you can tap to see all the other posts in the chain, then tap "Add Yours" to share your own response to the prompt. Your Story post will then be added to the chain for your followers to view and keep the trend going.
What makes Add Yours so engaging is how it taps into the remixing, challenge, and user-generated content behaviors that are so popular on social media. Just like TikTok‘s Duets and Stitches, Add Yours invites users to put their own spin on a theme and spread it to their network. Responding to the creative prompts is fun and accessible, and the chains help users discover new accounts and communities participating in the same trends.
Instagram‘s Gradual Rollout of Add Yours
When Add Yours first launched, Instagram made it available only in a few countries, including Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore. The company often rolls out new features to a limited audience first to monitor engagement and catch bugs before expanding access more widely.
Since the initial launch, Add Yours has become available in more countries, but it‘s still not globally accessible to all users. Instagram has not shared an exact list of countries or timeline for the rollout, but users have reported gaining access to the feature across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia at varying times.
Even within countries where Add Yours is available, Instagram typically launches new features to a subset of users first before making them available to everyone. This staggered rollout allows the company to test and iterate based on early user feedback. So if you don‘t see Add Yours in your Stories sticker tray, it may just mean it hasn‘t reached your account yet.
Add Yours Not Working? Troubleshooting Tips
If you‘re in a country where Add Yours is available but still not seeing it or having issues with the sticker, there are a few troubleshooting steps to try:
Update your app: Make sure you have the latest version of Instagram installed, as earlier versions may not include recent features and sticker additions. If you see an update available in the App Store or Google Play Store, install it and then relaunch Instagram. You can also try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Switch to a Personal account: Some users have reported that switching from a Business or Creator account to a Personal account made the Add Yours sticker show up and start working. To change your account type, go to Settings > Account > Switch account type. However, note that this will remove access to professional account tools.
Check your internet connection: Slow or unreliable internet can cause stickers and Stories to load incorrectly. Make sure you have a strong connection before trying to post with Add Yours.
Try a different Add Yours chain: If the sticker freezes or crashes when you try to post to a particular Add Yours chain, the issue may be with that specific sticker rather than the feature as a whole. Exit out of that Story and try tapping Add Yours on a different chain to see if it works.
Report the issue to Instagram: If you‘re still having problems with the Add Yours sticker after trying these troubleshooting steps, report it directly to Instagram through Settings > Help > Report a Problem. The more information the company has about bugs and user experience issues, the quicker it can work to resolve them.
The Viral Impact of the Add Yours Sticker
Despite the rollout hiccups, the Add Yours sticker has proven wildly popular and effective at driving engagement on Instagram. Take, for example, the "We‘ll plant 1 tree for every pet picture" Add Yours chain started by the @plantatreeco account in November 2021. The trend took off, with over 4 million users ultimately participating by sharing photos of their pets.
Other popular Add Yours prompts, like "show your #OOTDs (outfits of the day)" from fashion bloggers or "post a photo of your workspace" from productivity influencers, have garnered hundreds of thousands of replies. Broad, accessible themes that everyone can relate to and want to share their take on have proven most successful at inspiring widespread participation.
Brands and influencers have also hopped on the Add Yours trend to engage their communities and put a personal spin on their content. For example, Coca-Cola used an Add Yours sticker to prompt followers to share a photo with their favorite Coke beverage. Beauty, fashion, travel, and food bloggers have started Add Yours chains to have their followers share their own looks, tips, recommendations, and experiences.
Add Yours has become a powerful tool for brands and creators to strengthen their communities and inspire conversations and connections. According to Instagram, 58% of users say they‘ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories. Stickers and interactive elements help those Story posts stand out even more.
Instagram‘s Investment in Interactive Stickers and Stories
The Add Yours sticker is part of Instagram‘s broader push to make Stories and stickers more engaging, interactive, and central to the app experience. Over 500 million users interact with Instagram Stories daily, and a third of the most-viewed Stories come from businesses.
But Stories face stiff competition for user attention from the likes of TikTok and Snapchat. To stay relevant, Instagram has rapidly expanded its Stories features and stickers, with additions like:
- Poll and Quiz stickers to survey your audience
- Questions sticker to prompt followers to ask you anything
- Challenges sticker to encourage participation in themed hashtags
- Countdown sticker to build anticipation for events or launches
- DM Me sticker to invite viewers to message you directly
These interactive elements help boost engagement and views on Stories, which is particularly important for brands and creators. According to Instagram, 58% of people have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories. Stickers can help those Story posts inspire even more direct interaction.
Instagram continues to test and iterate on Stories features and stickers based on user feedback and engagement. While some interactive elements like the Questions sticker have occasionally run into inappropriate usage issues and moderation challenges, overall they‘ve been effective tools for creating a more social, community-driven experience on the app.
In many ways, Instagram is taking cues from what has worked on other platforms. TikTok‘s collaborative creation tools like Duets and Stitches have been central to the app‘s massive success and popularity with younger users. Instagram is looking to tap into similar behaviors and trends with its own features like Add Yours and Remix (which allows users to create reaction videos to Reels).
The Future of Instagram Stories and Stickers
So what‘s next for Instagram Stories and interactive stickers? The company is likely to continue investing heavily in this area, as it looks to drive usage and engagement, particularly with younger audiences.
We can expect to see more experiments with stickers and features that promote participation, remixing, challenges, and user-generated content. Instagram may expand the Add Yours sticker with new prompt options and the ability to add your own unique twist. It could introduce more ways to co-create and collaborate with other users on Stories. And it will likely keep rolling out new creative tools and filters to keep the Stories experience fresh and entertaining.
At the same time, Instagram will also have to grapple with the growing importance of moderation and safety in these shared spaces. As more users participate in communal Story trends and open their content up to additions and responses, there‘s more potential for misuse or abuse. Instagram will need clear policies and enforcement measures to prevent bullying, harassment, and the spread of misinformation through interactive features.
Access and usability will also be key considerations as Instagram adds more complex stickers and tools. The company recently introduced auto-generated captions for Stories to improve accessibility. Making sure new features like Add Yours are easy to find and use for people with visual impairments or limited digital literacy will be an important challenge.
As Instagram expands the Add Yours sticker to more countries and users, we can expect to see even more creativity and engagement with the feature. The sticker has proven its potential to bring people together around lighthearted, relatable topics and strengthen communities on the app. While there may be some additional hiccups along the way, interactive stickers like Add Yours will likely remain central to Instagram‘s mission to inspire creativity and connection.
