Instagram Re-Introduces Twitter Card Previews

Instagram has reintroduced image previews on Twitter, after controversially shutting down the feature nine years ago.

“If you want to share your latest Instagram post on the Twitter timeline too, you’re in luck: now when you share a link to an IG post in a tweet, it’ll show up as a card with a preview of the photo,” Twitter said in a message on its official support account.

Since 2012, when users share an Instagram post on Twitter, it has appeared as a plain-text link.

Corporate rift

The company removed image previews from Twitter shortly after the service was acquired by Facebook.

The move was controversial with users as it made it more difficult to cross-post to multiple social media platforms.

The shift was part of a broader rift between the companies after a failed bid by Twitter to acquire Instagram, which was ultimately bought by Facebook instead.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey had stopped posting to the rival service, and Twitter had also blocked the company from accessing a feature called the following graph.

Cross-posting

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said at the time the initiative to remove image previews came from him and not from new owner Facebook.

He said the move could help Instagram grow its traffic.

Instagram’s co-founders both left Facebook in 2018, and relations between the companies have gradually thawed.

The feature began appearing for some users last week and will eventually be available to all users.

“They said it would never happen… Twitter Card previews start rolling out TODAY,” Instagram said in a message on Twitter.