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Instagram link previews have finally returned to Twitter

Trevor Mogg
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Almost a decade after they disappeared, Instagram previews have returned to Twitter.

Since 2012, tweets that included a link to an Instagram post have been showing just that — a link. Now, however, the link will produce a small preview of the Instagram post so that you can make a more informed decision about whether you want to click through to the Instagram app to view it in full.

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The feature works for Android, iOS, and the web version of Twitter.

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“They said it would never happen … Twitter Card previews start rolling out TODAY,” Instagram said in a tweet announcing the change, explaining: “Now, when you share an Instagram link on Twitter a preview of that post will appear.”

They said it would never happen… Twitter Card previews start rolling out TODAY. 👀

Now, when you share an Instagram link on Twitter a preview of that post will appear. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/XSZRx9dzd1

— Instagram (@instagram) November 3, 2021

Twitter also highlighted the new feature on its Support account, saying: “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.”

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.

Rolling out on Android, iOS, and web.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 3, 2021

The inclusion of previews should work in Twitter’s favor as it means folks using its app are less likely to head off to Instagram to investigate a link, perhaps not returning until much later.

And with Twitter these days full of all types of media, Instagram seems to have finally come around to the idea that it’s better to include a preview image than just a simple link, reversing its decision to remove previews in 2012.

It’s not clear why Instagram has started to show previews on Twitter again. Digital Trends has reached out to the social media company for more information and we will update this article when we hear back.

In other Twitter news today, the microblogging site has just made it easier for iOS users (Android and web coming soon) to switch between “latest” tweets that show posts in chronological order and “home” tweets that show a list of tweets that a Twitter algorithm calculates you’ll be most interested in.

Before now, you had to hit a “star” icon at the top of the display and then select if you wanted the “latest” or “home” feed, whereas now both options appear as tabs at the top of the display, making it much easier to toggle between them.

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Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
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