Instagram is planning to replace the “swipe-up” link in Instagram Stories. The feature will not be available starting August 30. The “swipe-up” link feature had allowed creators and businesses who had over a certain number of followers to link their websites to their Instagram Stories. The websites which talked about their product or content could thus be easily highlighted. It allowed the creators to gain more traffic to their websites. According to reliable sources, the “swipe-up” feature will be replaced by a new Link Sticker.
The company confirmed the news by stating that they had been testing the Link Sticker since June. It was available to a few users. From August 30, it will be available to more users. It will be automatically available to the users who had access to the “swipe-up” feature. The announcement was first noticed by the app researcher Jane Manchun Wong.
The new feature will have more advantages than the “swipe-up” link. It is said that the creators will have more control over their Stories now. The Link Sticker will allow the creators to choose between different styles, sizes and place it anywhere on the Story like the other features like polls, questions, and location stickers. It will ensure more engagement on the part of the viewers. The viewers can also react to the Story with the Link Sticker just like any other Story. It was not possible with the Stories that had the “swipe-up” link.
Instagram is currently debating inside the company whether to increase the rollout of the Link Sticker feature. Currently, only verified accounts and accounts that have more than a certain number of followers have access to the Link Sticker. This decision is important as it will affect the app’s “integrity and safety”. (TechCrunch) Some users can misuse the Link Sticker to provide wrong information or for spamming.
Link Sticker is Instagram’s step towards a broader method to allow link sharing. The feature also is in line with other features of Instagram that are interactive and comes in the form of stickers.
