Instagram Is About To Replace A Swiping Feature With Stickers

Starting next week, Instagram says its users will no longer be able to swipe up on content to open an external link. Instead, the company is getting rid of the useful feature and replacing it with link stickers. Though that will require the user to tap instead of swipe, the company says it'll offer creators customization options.

News of the change first surfaced via The Verge, which reported seeing a new banner advising users about the change. Instagram has since confirmed the news, noting that creators will be able to add link stickers to their stories that viewers can tap to go to an external site.

The big benefit here appears to be for creators as stickers allow them to customize things about the link's appearance. This isn't the first time link stickers will appear in the app — Instagram kicked off a test involving them earlier this summer.

Instagram says that stickers work better for links with the way its users are now utilizing the platform. The platform will roll these tappable stickers out more widely to users, likewise enabling these users to respond to stories that have the links — this compared to the big limitation with swipe-up stories.

The stickers will still be limited to certain users at least initially, though. Instagram limits the swipe-up link option to users who have 10,000 or more followers and the link stickers will come with the same restrictions. If you have swipe-up privileges, you'll see the new stickers arrive later this month.