Instagram: Closing Out Competitors

Recently, Facebook's Instagram banned users from adding "add me" links that lead to Snapchat and Telegram. The reasoning was because it is "not the way our platform was intended to be used". Instagram is a free service and has the right to enforce this rule for any reason including attempts to reduce the use of their competitors' services. But how will users respond? 

This isn't the first time where Facebook used Instagram to close out their competitors. When Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, they immediately shut down Instagram's photo integration with Twitter. Since then, those Instagrams shared to Twitter are only the title of the photo and a link to the Instagram photo.

While content from Twitter to Facebook is well supported, it is sad that full Instagram to Twitter support is not available.