Instagram is making changes to the way links work in Instagram Stories.
The photo-sharing app has announced it will be altering the way people can include links in their Instagram Stories from Monday (30.08.21).
As of right now, people can ask their followers to swipe up on a post to follow a link to another site, but from Monday the swipe function will be replaced by link stickers.
Selected users on the app have already been presented with a message informing them about the upcoming change, which reads: “Swipe up links will soon be stickers. Starting August 30, swipe up links will go away. To add a link to your story, use the new link sticker.”
Currently, the swipe function is only available to users with more than 10,000 followers on Instagram, and these will be the first people to gain access to the new link stickers feature.
An Instagram spokesperson told Gadgets 360: “Confirming that we’ll begin converting people who currently have ‘swipe-up’ link access to the link sticker starting on August 30. That includes businesses and creators who are verified or have hit our threshold for follower count.”
The spokesperson also said Instagram is currently “evaluating” whether to expand link sticker access to all users on the platform.
They added: “We’re also still evaluating whether to expand link access to more accounts in the future, and looking at things like integrity and safety, how this could impact spread of misinformation and spam, etc. This transition to link stickers from swipe-up will help us determine whether it’s the right decision before expanding access to more people.”