How to Add Stories to Mobile Apps

Mobile apps today compete for one thing: attention. Stories win it.

They’re fast to consume, familiar to users, and frictionless to interact with. You’ve seen them on Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, and YouTube. Now, they’re becoming standard inside apps of every kind from food delivery to fintech.

Why? Because they work. Stories help increase retention. They drive more feature discovery. They make onboarding feel natural. And they give marketers a flexible format that doesn’t require developer time every week.

This guide explains how to add stories to your mobile app, what tools are available, and what features actually matter if you're aiming for engagement, not just visuals.

Why In-App Stories Work for User Engagement

Stories work because they meet users where they are — on their phones, in short attention spans, and in swipe mode. For product and marketing teams, stories solve three problems:

• Static banners don't get tapped
• Tooltips often feel like clutter
• In-app modals get dismissed without being read

Stories behave differently. They guide users instead of blocking them. They create a flow. And when connected to user data, they can be personal, contextual, and even fun.

Here’s what apps use them for:

• Feature launches
• Seasonal campaigns
• In-app tutorials
• Reward announcements
• Feedback collection
• A/B testing interactive formats

InAppStory, for example, supports SDK-based stories for iOS, Android, Flutter, and React Native. Once integrated, stories appear as native components inside your app. You control the placement, design, and logic from a no-code console.

Each story can include text, images, video, buttons, countdowns, quizzes, product cards, and more. You can set up targeting by user cohort, schedule timed campaigns, or trigger stories via push or in-app events.

⚡ If you’re looking for practical inspiration, this HackerNoon article outlines 10 story-based ideas for startups across industries from food tech to fintech.

Next, we’ll break down your integration options and what setup actually looks like.

How to Add Stories to Your App Using InAppStory

InAppStory offers one clear method: SDK integration.

It’s not just one of many options. It’s a fully supported, native way to embed stories into your app, give your team control over content, and activate advanced features like personalization, segmentation, and analytics.

Here’s how it works.

Step 1. Add the SDK to Your App

You install the SDK once. It’s available for:

• iOS
• Android
• React Native
• Flutter

Your developers connect it to your app’s frontend. After that, no coding is required to publish or update content.

The SDK handles story rendering, placement, interaction logic, and analytics. You can place the story feed on any screen: home, profile, checkout confirmation, etc.

Step 2. Create and Manage Stories in the Console

Once the SDK is integrated, your marketing or content team can handle the rest.

You log into the InAppStory console to:

• Create and edit stories using a visual editor
• Start from scratch or use pre-made templates
• Add text, video, buttons, polls, quizzes, and timers
• Schedule stories or set them to launch from triggers

You don’t need design tools. You don’t need to involve developers after setup. You get full control over the story content, layout, and audience.

Step 3. Target, Personalize, and Optimize

Inside the console, you can:

• Target stories to user segments
• Personalize stories with dynamic fields
• Run up to 5 versions of a story for A/B testing
• Access analytics: impressions, opens, completions, clicks
• View performance by user, date, or platform

What You Can Do with In-App Stories

Stories aren’t just about slides. They’re about guiding users, delivering value, and creating interaction inside the app. With InAppStory, you can create more than static content.

Here’s what you can build and what it’s actually useful for.

1. Onboarding and Feature Education

New users often feel lost. Stories can walk them through key actions step by step.

• Highlight how to set up their profile
• Explain what to do on the first screen
• Introduce features visually
• Show short videos or image sequences

You can set these stories to appear only during the first session or on app open. You can also create different onboarding flows for different user groups.

2. Campaigns, Offers, and Announcements

Stories are perfect for short-term messages.

• Run promotions or flash sales
• Launch seasonal campaigns
• Announce new features or updates
• Share event countdowns or limited-time offers

Each story can include a CTA button, a timer, or a product widget. You can even trigger a story when a user completes a specific action like a purchase or app update.

3. Collecting Feedback or User Input

InAppStory supports interactive widgets like:

• Polls and quizzes
• Satisfaction sliders
• Open-ended question forms
• Voting modules
• Star ratings with follow-up logic

You can ask users for quick feedback on a feature, test content formats, or segment users by preference — all inside stories.

4. Personalization That Feels Human

You can personalize text inside any story using dynamic variables. That means you can greet users by name or tailor messages based on data your app already has.

Personalization increases engagement. It makes the story feel like part of the product, not a generic campaign.

What Else You Can Do with In-App Stories

Once your first story is live, you can manage everything from one place.

InAppStory’s console gives non-technical teams full control over:

• Scheduling
  Set start and end times for each story.
• Story feeds
  Create multiple feeds for different screens in your app.
• Story position
  Pin stories to the top or reorder them manually.
• Audience targeting
  Show stories only to specific users based on tags or segments.
• Story stats
  Track views, completions, clicks, and engagement by platform, date, or story.
• A/B testing
  Launch up to five versions of a story to see what performs best.
• Security
  Enable two-factor authentication. Manage sessions. Control access.

All of this happens without touching the app code. Once the SDK is set up, the console becomes your workspace to plan, build, and track interactive content.

Common Questions Before You Get Started

Do we need developers every time we want to change a story?
 

No. Once the SDK is integrated, stories are created, edited, and published from the console. No code changes or app updates are needed.

Can stories match our app’s design?
 

Yes. You can upload custom fonts, set brand colors, adjust layouts, and use your own covers. 

Can we control who sees each story?
 

Yes. Use tags and segments to show stories to specific users or hide them from others.

Do stories slow down the app?
 

No. Stories load efficiently through the SDK and only fetch content when needed.

Do you have a free trial?

Yes, we offer a full-access, one-month free trial. It only starts after you publish your first story in your app, giving you time to get comfortable with the platform. During the trial, you can also test each add-on at no cost.