Instagram 'Swipe Up' button to be replaced with 'Link Stickers' starting August 30; check
The Instagram Swipe Up button helped viewers to navigate from an Instagram story to an external website or page by swiping up on the feature-enabled story.
- Tech News
- 3 min read
Until now, Instagram users are able to share external content on their stories through a Swipe Up gesture, which has a link to an external source. However, the Facebook-owned social media platform is going to remove the swipe up feature from Instagram stories and replacing it with Link Stickers. The omission of swipe up links will fundamentally change the way external content is shared on Instagram. Read along to know more about Instagram Link Stickers.
When is the Instagram Swipe Up feature being removed?
Instagram has started showing a notification to several users, which says "Swipe up links will soon be stickers." The change will be implemented on the platform from August 30, 2021. Swipe Up links in Instagram helped viewers to navigate from an Instagram story to an external website or page by swiping up on the feature-enabled story. The photos and videos sharing platform say that it is retiring the Swipe Up feature to "streamline the stories creation experience" and provide "more creative control to the user." It might leave several users in disappointment as the Swipe Up has been there for quite a long time and has its own category of animated GIFs, and is one of the most used features by influencers on the platform.
Swipe Up feature will be replaced by Link Stickers
"Starting August 30, swipe up links will go away. To add a link to your story, use the new link sticker." The Link Stickers, as the name suggests, are stickers with embedded links that redirect a user to an external web page on the internet, just like the Swipe Up gesture does. Instagram began testing the Link Stickers in the month of June 2021 on the grounds that the feature fits better with the way people use the platform. Another major improvement that will come along with the Link Stickers is the ability to reply or react to stories that contain links to external sources. Previously, users could not reply to stories that were created with the Swipe Up feature.
How to use Instagram link stickers?
The Instagram Swipe Up button is available to people with more than 10,000 followers on the platform, or those who are verified. Similarly, the Instagram Link Stickers will be available to those who had access to the Swipe Up feature. Just like the users could add an external link to a story using Instagram Swipe Up feature, users will be able to add an external link to the Link Stickers. Those who view the stories with such stickers will be able to tap on them and navigate to an external address. Additionally, users will also be able to react or respond to such Instagram stories.