Instagram working on ‘Exclusive Stories’ for subscribers, similar to Twitter’s Super Follow feature

Instagram could be jumping on the paid subscription bandwagon with ‘Exclusive Stories’ so creators can monetise their content – the feature seems similar to Twitter’s recently launched Super Follow feature.

Instagram could be adding monetising features in a future version of the app.  (REUTERS)

Instagram is reportedly working on the ability to allow creators to monetise their Instagram stories with ‘exclusive' content, which could work in a similar way that Twitter's Super Follow feature works. The service which currently allows followers to see all the content on a story could soon restrict access to some stories to subscribers, according to a recent leak.

The first hint that the image and video sharing platform was working on such a feature was first shared recently by Twitter user Alessandro Paluzzi who is known for revealing features on popular apps by reverse-engineering them. At the time, Paluzzi had shared a screenshot of a dialog on the Instagram app that showed signs of a new feature called ‘Exclusive Story'.

Paluzzi also shared additional images of the feature that is currently being developed, with a dialog box that informs users that only members of a particular group (hinting at an exclusive fan club) can access. Another screenshot also shows a suggestion to save exclusive stories to Story Highlights on a profile “so fans always have something to see when they join”. The tipster also claims that a user will not be able to screenshot ‘Exclusive Stories'.

The leaked screenshots of the Exclusive Stories feature that the company is reportedly working on. (Alessandro Paluzzi @alex193a)

The leaked screenshots of the Exclusive Stories feature that the company is reportedly working on. (Alessandro Paluzzi @alex193a)

While the feature could eventually launch for beta testers on the app, it is unclear at this whether every Instagram user would be able to use the service. While features like swiping up on stories to share links were limited to Instagram accounts with more than 10,000 followers, the company recently began testing sharing links in stories for all users. The latest leak from Paluzzi shows a new ‘Subscribe' button on a user's profile, which is expected to show up when a user has a fan club.

While Instagram recently confirmed to TechCrunch that the company was working on a feature, the company stated that the screenshots were only “internal prototypes”. The company also reportedly declined to comment on specific details about its plans and that it was “not at a place to talk about the project yet”. The feature isn't even available for alpha testers on Android, and it could completely change by the time the feature is launched by the company.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has previously stated that the company is looking at other monetisation features like tipping, subscriptions and Non Fungible Tokens (or NFT). It looks like the company could be looking into branded content, affiliate marketing, gated content, tips and payment type products that could tie into user content like IGTV and Reels, according to the report.