What is an in-app story?
Used in a sentence: Instead of another banner for the new rewards programme, let's explain it in a short in-app story on the home screen.
How it works
Stories usually appear as a row of circular thumbnails near the top of a screen. A coloured ring marks stories the user has not seen. Tapping one opens a full-screen viewer that plays cards in sequence, with a progress bar at the top.
Each card can hold an image, a short video, text and a button. Users tap to move forward, tap the left edge to go back, hold to pause and swipe down to close. The app tracks which cards each user viewed and where they dropped off. Stories can be targeted by segment, scheduled to expire, and ordered so the most relevant one appears first.
Example
A mutual fund app launches goal-based investing. Instead of a long help page, the team publishes a story with a handful of cards: what a goal is, how the app picks funds, how progress is tracked, and a final card with a “Create a goal” button. It appears first in the home screen story row for users who have not created a goal yet, and disappears once they do.
In-app story vs banner carousel
| In-app story | Banner carousel | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Full-screen, sequential cards | Inline cards rotating on a screen |
| User control | Taps, pauses and swipes through | Auto-rotates or swipes sideways |
| Best for | Explaining or telling a short story | Promoting several separate offers |
Carousels compete for a glance. Stories get the full screen once a user chooses to open them.
Best practices
- Give each card one idea and keep text readable without pausing.
- End with a single clear action, and deep link it to the right screen.
- Target stories by segment so the row feels relevant, not like a billboard.
- Expire stories that are no longer true, and track where users drop off.
How to do this with Digia Engage
A growth team builds the story cards in Digia’s no-code builder or imports them from Figma, adds images or short videos, and sets the action on the last card. Targeting comes from segments already in CleverTap, MoEngage or WebEngage, and stories can be scheduled or expired from the dashboard without an app release. See the format on the in-app stories page and video options on the in-app videos page.
Frequently asked questions
- What should in-app stories be used for?
- Stories suit content that benefits from a short sequence: explaining a new feature, walking through an offer, sharing curated picks, or recapping news and updates. They work best when each card carries one idea and the final card gives a clear action, such as trying the feature or claiming the offer.
- How long should an in-app story be?
- There is no fixed rule. Keep it to a few cards with short copy, so the message lands even if the user leaves early. Let users control the pace by tapping forward, holding to pause and swiping away. Put the most important point and the main call to action early.
Related terms
Read more
Part of the In-app engagement glossary.