Instagram tests letting anyone share a link in stories

Instagram has always limited who can post swipe-up links to their stories, but today, the company is starting a new test that could widen that ability. In this case, however, it isn’t a swipe up that people will be able to offer, but instead a linking sticker. These stickers will operate the same way a swipe-up link does, except with a tap instead of a swipe. People will also be able to respond to stories that include a sticker, which they can’t currently do with stories that have a swipe up.

For now, the test is small, and Vishal Shah, Instagram’s head of product, tells The Verge it’s mostly to learn how people might take advantage of links. They’ll be watching for the types of links people post while keeping a particular eye on misinformation and spam. Plus, stickers, he says, fit more into the current way people use the platform, so he says this test “brings links into the same kind of overall system, which from a simplicity of system perspective, also makes a lot of sense.”

He adds that link stickers are the eventual goal for Instagram, whether that be for everyone or just people who already have linking privileges. “That is the sort of future system we would like to get to,” he says. “And that’s what we hope to roll out, if we’re able to make this work.”

Links will be limited to stories for now, however. Shah says there’s “no plan” to bring them to the feed or any other part of the app.

This test seems mostly targeted at people who’ve found a voice and reach on the platform, but maybe not to the levels that Instagram requires to gain swipe-up privileges. (Users have to be verified or have at least 10,000 followers.) Activists, for example, have mastered the art of call-to-action posts but haven’t been able to direct people to website resources. This might make that possible. Again, it’s only a small test, so the platform won’t rapidly change overnight, but it might be the start of people web browsing from within the Instagram app more frequently.

:story: The Verge