Nine years later, Instagram link previews re-introduced on Twitter

After a 9-year hiatus, Instagram has re-introduced support for Twitter Cards, bringing back link previews on Twitter.

Instagram link previews would be supported on all platforms where Twitter is currently available. (Instagram / Meta)

Instagram link previews have been re-introduced for Twitter users. This will allow Instagram users to see a preview of the Instagram post or video before they click on the link. The app has now added support for Twitter Cards again, for previews of links on the image and video sharing service that will appear for the first time in nine years.

The change appears to have been implemented with immediate effect, and Instagram confirmed the return of Twitter Card previews in a tweet last night. “Now, when you share an Instagram link on Twitter a preview of that post will appear,” the company stated.

The microblogging platform also tweeted on Wednesday that Instagram previews would be supported on all platforms where Twitter is currently available. “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,” the company's support handle tweeted.

Twitter users who have been on the platform for a while will remember that Instagram did support link previews via the Twitter Cards feature, and users were able to see a preview of the post of video from Instagram they were sharing on the platform. However, the feature was disabled back in 2012 after Instagram was acquired by Facebook, which is now Meta.

But notably, sharing a link to a post on Twitter will still generate a small preview of the media, as Instagram ostensibly wants users to view the media on its own service. This means that the preview you see on Twitter could be cropped, or may not show the entire image. However, Twitter Card support returning to the service is a good thing for users, as it is always better to have an idea of what you are about to click on while you are on Twitter.