Un-skippable ad testing on Instagram has apparently been confirmed, according to posts made by individuals who have recently mentioned seeing them. These 5-second “ad breaks” that viewers could not scroll past were brought to light earlier in a Reddit thread.

A Meta representative has now reportedly stated that the company is experimenting with new strategies to increase value for advertising. There isn’t any proof, though, that the test will result in a broader platform implementation. Ads have been present on the Meta-owned site for quite a bit of time, but users have always had the option to scroll past them.

TechCrunch reported that Instagram had acknowledged testing these advertising. The magazine was informed by a corporate representative that “we’re always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers.” It did, however, note that the testing was just being done to evaluate customer sentiment and performance, and the firm will provide updates if it is officially rolled out to a larger user base.

These advertisements were discovered by a number of other people following the Reddit post. @TheDanLevy, a user of X (formerly known as Twitter), also made a post regarding these advertisements and provided additional information. The billboard described it as a “bonkers move” and revealed that these advertisements are known as “ad breaks.” The label has an info icon next to it that, when clicked, opens a bottom sheet that says, “You’re seeing an ad break,” as seen in the screenshot.

The text that followed went on to explain this feature, saying that “Ad breaks are a new way to see ads on Instagram.” You might occasionally have to watch an advertisement before continuing to browse. These commercial interruptions seem to be restricted to a 5-second duration for the time being, but some users have have also claimed to have come across 10-second-long ads.