Instagram blocks sharing for Telegram, Snapchat links

Instagram users have been blocked from deep-linking to messaging apps Telegram and Snapchat.

On Thursday, messaging service provider Telegram issued a tweet:

Another @Facebook tentacle closes on users' ability to share a link to their Telegram profile. #hypocrisy pic.twitter.com/xC6ydp3M0p

— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) March 2, 2016

TechCrunch reported that Instagram confirmed the move. "We've removed the ability to include 'add me' links on Instagram profile pages. This was a rare use-case, and not the way our platform was intended to be used. Other types of links are still allowed."

Last year, WhatsApp blocked links with any reference to telegram.me or telegram.org. While the link appears in a chat message, users cannot click on it and can't even copy and paste it to another browser or app.

At the time, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov had tweeted:

Whatsapp started censoring links to Telegram in their Android app (i.e. for ~80 per cent of the users).

Whatsapp started censoring links to Telegram in their Android app (i.e. for ~80% of the users). pic.twitter.com/qV0vBLJpi6

— Pavel Durov (@durov) November 30, 2015

Both WhatsApp and Instagram are owned by Facebook.

Headquartered in Berlin, Telegram was founded in 2013 by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov. While Pavel looks after the financial aspects of the firm, Nikolai oversees technology. The brothers also founded Russia-based social networking site VKontakte in 2006.

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