Here’s How To Start Your Own “Add Yours” Thread On Instagram Stories

If you’ve been on Instagram lately, you might be wondering why you’re seeing so many stories of people’s dogs with the sticker, “We’ll plant 1 tree for every pet picture.” Under these types of stickers, there is typically a metric of how many people have participated in the prompt — which is often thousands or even millions of Instagram users — with an option to “Add Yours” to the chain of stories. No, this isn’t Instagram’s version of chain mail. It’s their newest Add Yours feature.

Add Yours, which rolled out on Nov. 1, is a new sticker option on Instagram that allows users to respond to different threads with their own take on a specific theme — from pet pics, to “#ootd,” to “Current View,” and more. Once a reply is added to one’s story, whoever views their story can then tap the sticker to add their own reply, continuing the chain to reach their own followers. The feature functions something like Snapchat’s “Our Story” feature, or like a social media game of telephone. Tap the sticker to reply or view the myriad responses that users have added to the prompt. If you’ve been hoping to add you own spin on the latest viral sticker trend, here’s how to use Instagram’s “Add Yours” feature.

How To Use Instagram’s “Add Yours” Feature

If you’d like to reply to an Add Yours sticker, all you have to do is click on the sticker in the story you are viewing it in. That will bring you to a window where you can view all of the public submissions to this sticker. (Scroll through if you’re looking for inspo!) At the bottom of this screen, there will be a blue button with the option to “Add Yours.” You can forego viewing previous submissions be clicking directly on the “Add Yours” text in the original sticker.

Once you’ve opted to Add Yours, you’ll be able to post your submission the same as you would any story. Your camera app will be open for you to take a picture of your submission in real time, or you can select a photo from your camera roll by clicking on the camera roll option in the bottom left corner of your Story screen. Select your photo, and add any text you’d like if desired. Then, hit post and it will automatically be added to the Add Yours stories.

How To Start Your Own “Add Yours” Sticker

If you’re feeling like a trailblazer, you can also initiate your own Add Yours thread. To do so, draft an Instagram story as you typically would be swiping right on your home page. Once you’ve taken your photo, or selected your photo from your camera roll in the bottom left-hand corner, you will be able to edit your story. Click on the Stickers option in the top right corner of your screen, which is the third from the right and looks like a notepad with a smiley face on it.

From the Stickers menu, you should see an “Add Yours” sticker option with a camera next to it. (If you don’t see it right away, you can search for it in the top search bar of the menu.) You can choose to type in a prompt on the sticker, or you can click the dice on the bottom of your screen above your keyboard. Clicking this icon will give a random prompt — like “The latest pic on your camera roll” or “Throwbacks.” Click “Done” in the top right corner, then click the “Your story” button in the bottom left corner of your screen to post to your Instagram story. Once you’ve shared an “Add Yours” story, you can go back to your original post and click on the sticker to see who has participated in the thread.

What If The “Add Yours” Sticker Isn't Working?

While the “Add Yours” feature has been officially rolled out everywhere, some users might still have some difficulty jumping in on the fun. If you haven’t spotted any “Add Yours” stickers on your feed, it could just mean that no one you follow has used it yet. (Which is a great opportunity for you to initiate the trend with your followers using the instructions above!)

However, if you’ve been able to view stories with the “Add Yours” sticker, but have been unable to add your own, there’s a few troubleshooting solutions you can use. As always with a new feature, if the “Add Yours” sicker isn’t working, it could mean that your Instagram app is in need of an update. Head to your phone’s app store and see if you’re eligible for an update, and if so, download it. Quitting the app and restarting it, or restarting your phone, is another way to force the app into recognizing the feature. If it’s still not loading, report the issue to Instagram by going to your Settings, then tapping “Help,” then “Report a Problem.”