Instagram to ditch swipe-up links and replace them with stickers

Instagram’s swipe-up links in Stories are about to disappear. The app is ditching this format in favor of something new – link stickers. Some users are already seeing the change and using it. However, many have been left without an option to add links to their Stories until the new feature is officially rolled out.

App researcher Jane Manchun Wong often notices upcoming changes to Instagram, and the same happened this time. She posted a tweet about the app ditching the swipe-up links and replacing it with stickers. Still, she says that she doesn’t have the link sticker either, at least not yet.

IG said the swipe up links will go away starting from Aug 30 and that I should use the “link sticker”

… but I searched my Stories Sticker sheet and I’m not seeing the link sticker at all (not rolled out to me).

Does that mean I’ll lose the ability to add links to my Stories?

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 23, 2021

Replying to Jane’s tweet, Sam Sheffer confirmed that he’s seeing the same notification and shared a screenshot:

same pic.twitter.com/xIVEURtYzj

— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) August 23, 2021

Starting from 30 August, the swipe-up links in Stories will be replaced with stickers. And no, us regular folks will still not get them – only those who already have the swipe-up links. This feature has been reserved for verified accounts or those with a high follower count. The commonly reported number of followers you need is at least 10,000, but it’s interesting that Instagram never confirmed this.

TechCrunch emphasizes some benefits of link stickers over swipe-up links. First of all, they allow more control over the look of your Story. Just like other stickers, you can move and resize them as you please. And perhaps more important, they allow your followers to reply to your Stories, which is not possible if a Story includes a swipe-up link.

Earlier this year, Instagram started testing link stickers in Stories for everyone. However, it looks like the format will change, but the feature will still only remain available for the “chosen ones.”

[via TechCrunch]