Twitter cards allowed users to share Instagram post previews in tweets, but since 2012 Instagram has only allowed the URL to be shown and not the preview – a move which caused great controversy as it made cross-posting much more difficult for users.
The rationale for the removal was that Instagram wanted people to view content on their platform, not on Twitter. The move happened around the same time as Facebook acquired Instagram, but Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom insisted that the decision came from himself and not Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg.
This month, however, Instagram is bringing back Twitter previews with support coming from both platforms.
"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," read a tweet on Twitter's official support account.
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