Instagram and Twitter are making friends. Nine years after Instagram pulled Twitter Card support, previews of Instagram links will now be visible on Twitter. Before, all users could see was an Instagram URL. The update started rolling out today on iOS, Android and the web.
Instagram removed Twitter previews in 2012, post-acquisition by Facebook — though Instagram founder Kevin Systrom said he made the decision, not CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Systrom said he wanted to Instagram's images to be viewed on its own service rather than Twitter, TechCrunch reported.
Twitter also made it more difficult to integrate networks in 2012, removing a feature that let you find the people you followed on Instagram. Many saw that as a tit-for-tat move in a long-running feud between the two social networks; in 2010, Facebook blocked a Twitter feature that used Facebook to find friends to follow. It didn't help that Twitter had sought to buy Instagram shortly before Facebook swooped in.
But it seems the two are making amends, with both promoting the news on Twitter.
They said it would never happen\u2026 Twitter Card previews start rolling out TODAY. \n\nNow, when you share an Instagram link on Twitter a preview of that post will appear. pic.twitter.com/XSZRx9dzd1— Instagram (@Instagram) 1635959946
If you want to share your latest Instagram post on the Twitter timeline too, you\u2019re in luck: now when you share a link to an IG post in a Tweet, it\u2019ll show up as a card with a preview of the photo.\n\nRolling out on Android, iOS, and web.— Twitter Support (@Twitter Support) 1635960996