Facebook launches a new feature: Instagram Stories are displayed without the need for cross-posting
If you've posted a Story on Instagram and you can also see it in your Facebook app, know that this is not a mistake. A new feature in fact eliminates the cross-posting of content between the two platforms and now Instagram Stories will be directly visible on the other social network.
For the moment, the new feature is in the testing phase and available only to a few users, but the choice by Mark Zuckerberg seems to be decidedly clear. Eliminating the cross-posting and moving to the publication directly on both social continues with the project of a merger of the three platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, already started with the merger of Direct and Messenger chat. To understand if the story visible on both social networks was first published on one or the other social network, you will use a colored frame: blue for Facebook and pink for Instagram.
Facebook and Instagram Stories, the news
Until now, to publish a content uploaded on Instagram also on Facebook was necessary to check an option in the app that would allow cross-posting between the platforms of the two social networks. Some users, however, have reported that Stories on Instagram are directly visible on Facebook, without the need to authorize the double publication and vice versa: by publishing a Story on Facebook, you can also see it on Instagram. To recognize the social platform from which the story comes from, a color code has been inserted: a blue border for those coming from Facebook and a pink frame if it originates from Instagram.
Facebook and Instagram, Stories without cross-posting
The test was launched for a small number of users and to notice the change was the Twitter user ec_wife, who posted screenshots of the Facebook popup that warned him of the change. User Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, asked the social network for an explanation of the change and got a response confirming that the new feature is being tested and that cross-posting will be abolished.
Facebook spokesperson then explained that the new feature is designed to make it easier to view the moments that matter most to its users, stressing that all privacy settings have been respected. In order for direct publishing to take place, the user will have to have Facebook and Instagram accounts linked together, but can still choose whether to activate the feature or keep the publications separate.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp towards unification
The new feature that is being tested only for a few users is still a step forward in the project undertaken by Mark Zuckerberg for the unification of its platforms. It is a path that began with the integration of Instagram's Direct chat with that of Facebook Messenger, until the possible merger with WhatsApp chat. For this reason, it is not to be excluded that in the future, the Menlo Park company could decide to take a further step and integrate the new Stories feature between Instagram and WhatsApp as well.