Instagram Confirms Bug With iMessage Link Previews, Promises Fix Soon

Instagram has confirmed that a bug is preventing proper Instagram URL previews from appearing in iMessage conversations. In a statement to Mashable, Instagram says the behavior is not normal, and that it's "working to resolve Instagram link previews in iMessage so that they load normally."

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The lack of link previews was first brought up on Reddit around two months ago, so it seems the issue has been going on for a long time. Mashable implies that Instagram was not aware of the bug until it reached out for comment, which triggered the Facebook-owned social network to conduct an investigation.

Normally, sending an Instagram URL on iMessage generates a preview of the photo/video, alongside the account which posted it, and a snippet of the caption. Now, the bug is causing links to appear without the thumbnail preview or related information.

Thankfully, there is a logical explanation as to why this is occurring. Security research team Mysk did some digging at the behest of Mashable to backward engineer iMessage and Instagram. The team found that when iMessage attempts to fetch the metadata for the link, Instagram directs the request to its login page. Instagram's login page doesn't hold metadata, which includes a thumbnail of the post.

Mysk is the same security team that, earlier this month, found that Facebook and Instagram link previews could be violating EU privacy laws. Mysk believes that the preview of the link that is generated when a URL is sent in Facebook Messenger and Instagram may be infringing on multiples articles of the ePrivacy directive, which states that personal data can only be accessed by authorized personnel for legal purposes.

As a result, Facebook no longer generates link previews for EU users in Messenger and Instagram. There's no indication, however, that the bug with iMessage is related to the reported breach of privacy law, so it certainly seems to be an issue on Instagram's side.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Top Rated Comments

FelixDerKater Avatar
55 months ago
Craig goes by the name Hair Force?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topmounter Avatar
55 months ago
PSA: Instagram is Facebook.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Canyda Avatar
55 months ago
I believe it mostly affects people named Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane... ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rigby Avatar
55 months ago

Craig goes by the name Hair Force?
He has referred to himself as Hair Force One on occasion. ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WaxedJacket Avatar
55 months ago
This was happening to me back in December. I sent a bug report to Instagram (following their steps ('https://help.instagram.com/381579045265733')) after doing some trouble shooting on my own. I'm calling BS on them not knowing about it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HeavenDynamic Avatar
55 months ago
Finally, this has been happening for weeks.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)