Threads Tests Updated Link Preview Display for Instagram Posts

This is interesting.

Instagram’s currently developing a new update for Threads that’ll see still image posts shared from IG presented in a new, dedicated format within your Threads post, as opposed to a link with a small thumbnail, driving the user back to IG.

As you can see in this example, shared by app researcher Radu Oncescu, the new process will display single image and carousel posts from Instagram as full size images in your Threads updates, with the creators’ Instagram handle overlaid on the image. Tap on a picture and you’ll be taken through to the original post on Instagram.

The same presentation is also in testing for Reels clips, providing a more integrated, and better looking share format for Instagram content in its sister app.

Which could be a good way to build both your Threads and IG presence, by re-sharing your updates to Threads, reducing creation time, while still maintaining a good looking Threads profile display.

But it’s not available to all users as yet. I was unable to recreate this in my own posting experiments, though it does look to be coming to all users soon.  

We’ve asked the Threads team for more info on a potential roll out of the new IG link presentation format.