Instagram is building its own version of Twitter\u2019s Super Follow with a feature that would allow online creators to publish \u201cexclusive\u201d content to their Instagram Stories that\u2019s only available to their fans \u2014 access that would likely come with a subscription payment of some kind.<\/p>\n
Instagram confirmed that the screenshots of the feature recently circulated<\/a> across social media are from an internal prototype that\u2019s now in development, but not yet being publicly tested. The company declined to share any specific details about its plans, saying they\u2019re not at a place to talk about this project just yet.<\/p>\n\n Image Credits: Exclusive Story in development via\u00a0Alessandro Paluzzi<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The screenshots, however, convey a lot about Instagram\u2019s thinking, as they show a way that creators could publish what are being called \u201cExclusive Stories\u201d to their accounts, which are designated with a different color (currently purple<\/a>). When other Instagram users come across the Exclusive Stories, they\u2019ll be shown a message that says that \u201conly members\u201d can view this content. The Stories cannot be screenshot, either, it appears, and they can be shared as Highlights. A new prompt encourages creators to \u201csave this to a Highlight for your Fans,\u201d explaining that, by doing so, \u201cfans always have something to see when they join.\u201d<\/p>\n The Exclusive Stories feature was uncovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi<\/a>, who often finds unreleased features in the code of mobile apps. Over the past week, he\u2019s published a series screenshots to an ongoing Twitter thread about his findings.<\/p>\n\n Image Credits: Instagram Exclusive Story Highlight feature in development via<\/strong>\u00a0Alessandro Paluzzi<\/strong> <\/a>(opens in a new window)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Exclusive Stories are only one part of Instagram\u2019s broader plans for expanded creator monetization tools.<\/p>\n The company has been slowly revealing more details about its efforts in this space, with Instagram Head Adam Mosseri first telling\u00a0The Information<\/a> in May that the company was \u201cexploring\u201d subscriptions along with other new features, like NFTs.<\/p>\n Paluzzi also recently found references<\/a> to the NFT feature, Collectibles, which shows how digital collectibles could appear on a creator\u2019s Instagram profile in a new tab.<\/p>\n\n Image Credits: Instagram NFT feature in development via <\/strong>Alessandro Paluzzi<\/strong> (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Image Credits: <\/strong>Alessandro Paluzzi<\/strong> <\/a>(opens in a new window)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Instagram, so far, hasn\u2019t made a public announcement about these specific product developments, instead choosing to speak at a high level about its plans around things like subscriptions and tips.<\/p>\n For example, during Instagram\u2019s Creator Week in early June \u2014 an event that could have served as an ideal place to offer a first glimpse at some of these ideas \u2014 Mosseri talked<\/a> more generally about the sort of creator tools Instagram was interested in building, without saying which were actually in active development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to create if we want to be the best platform for creators long term, a whole suite of things, or tools, that creators can use to help do what they do,\u201d he said, explaining that Instagram was also working on more creative tools and safety features, as well as tools that could help creators make a living.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s super important that we create a whole suite of different tools, because what you might use and what would be relevant for you as a creator might be very different than an athlete or a writer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so, largely, [the creator monetization tools] fall into three categories. One is commerce \u2014 so either we can do more to help with branded content; we can do more with affiliate marketing\u2026we can do more with merch,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe second is ways for users to actually pay creators directly \u2014 so whether it is gated content or subscriptions or tips, like badges, or other user payment-type products. I think there\u2019s a lot to do there. I love those because those give creators a direct relationship with their fans \u2014 which I think is probably more sustainable and more predictable over the long run,\u201d Mosseri said.<\/p>\n The third area is focused on revenue share, as with IGTV long-form video and short-form video, like Reels, he added.<\/p>\n Image Credits:\u00a0Instagram Exclusive Story feature in development via <\/strong>Alessandro Paluzzi<\/strong> (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Instagram isn\u2019t the only large social platform moving forward with creator monetization efforts.<\/p>\n The membership model, popularized by platforms like OnlyFans and Patreon, has been more recently making its way to a number of mainstream social networks as the creator economy has become better established.<\/p>\n Twitter, for example,\u00a0first\u00a0announced its own take on creator subscriptions, <\/a>with the unveiling of its plans for the Super Follow feature\u00a0during an Analyst Day event in February. Last week, it began rolling out applications<\/a> for Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces \u2014 the latter, a competitor to Clubhouse\u2019s audio social networking rooms.<\/p>\n