Instagram is building its own version of Twitter’s Super Follow with a feature that allows online creators to post “exclusive” content on their Instagram Stories that is only available to their fans – access that would likely come with a subscription payment . Instagram has confirmed the screenshots of the feature recently circulated on social media comes from an internal prototype that is currently under development but not yet publicly tested. The company declined to give specific details about its plans, saying the company is not in a place to talk about this project yet.
Photo credit: Exclusive story in development over Alessandro Paluzzi
However, the screenshots convey a lot about the mindset of Instagram, as they show a way how YouTubers can post so-called “Exclusive Stories” on their account, which are marked with a different color (currently purple). When other Instagram users come across the Exclusive Stories, they will see a message stating that “only members” can see this content. The stories cannot be viewed as screenshots either, they are displayed and can be shared as highlights. A new request encourages YouTubers to “save this as a highlight for their fans” and explains that “fans always have something to see when they join”.
The Exclusive Stories feature was discovered by Reverse Engineer Alessandro Paluzziwhich often finds unreleased features in mobile app code. Over the past week, he posted a number of screenshots of his findings on an on-going Twitter thread.
Image Credit: Instagram Exclusive Story Highlight Feature Under Development Over Alessandro Paluzzi (opens in a new window)
Exclusive Stories are just part of Instagram’s broader plans for advanced monetization tools for YouTubers.
The company has slowly revealed more details about its efforts in this area, with Instagram boss Adam Mosseri telling first The information in May that the company “explored” subscriptions along with other new features like NFTs.
Paluzzi too recently found references NFT’s Collectibles feature, which shows how digital collectibles could appear in a new tab on a creator’s Instagram profile.
Photo credit: Instagram NFT feature in development over Alessandro Paluzzi (opens in a new window)
Instagram has so far not made any public announcements about these specific product developments, but has chosen to speak at a high level about its plans on topics like subscriptions and tips.
For example, during Instagram’s Creator Week in early June – an event that could have served as an ideal place to give a first look at some of these ideas – Mosseri spoke more generally about the type of creator tools Instagram was interested in developing without saying which ones were actually in active development.
“If we want to be the best platform for YouTubers in the long term, we have to create a whole range of things or tools that can support YouTubers in their work,” he said, explaining that Instagram is also working on more creative tools and security features for YouTubers as well as tools that could help YouTubers make a living.
“I think it’s very important that we develop a whole bunch of different tools because what you could use and what would be relevant to you as a YouTuber can be very different from what you would be an athlete or a writer,” he said.
“And so, essentially, [the creator monetization tools] fall into three categories. One of them is commerce – either we can do more to help with branded content; We can do more with affiliate marketing … we can do more with merch, ”he explained. “The second option for users is to actually pay creators directly – whether it’s gated content or subscriptions, or tips like badges or other user payment type products. I think there is a lot to be done. I love these because they give the creators a direct relationship with their fans – which I think is probably more sustainable and predictable in the long run, ”said Mosseri.
The third area is focused on revenue sharing, like IGTV long-form videos and short-form videos like Reels, he added.
Image Credit: Instagram Exclusive Story Feature Under Development Over Alessandro Paluzzi (opens in a new window)
Instagram isn’t the only major social platform driving the monetization efforts for YouTubers.
The membership model popularized by platforms like OnlyFans and Patreon has recently made its way into a number of mainstream social networks as the creator economy became more established.
Twitter, for example, first announced its own version of Creator Subscriptions when its plans for Super Follow were revealed during an Analyst Day event in February. It began last week with the launch of apps for Super Follows and Ticked Spaces – the latter, a competitor to Clubhouse’s audio social networking spaces.
Meanwhile, Facebook just launched its Substack newsletter competitor Bulletin yesterday, which gives YouTubers a way to sell premium subscriptions and access member-only groups and live audio rooms. Even Spotify has launched an audio chat room and clubhouse rival, Greenroom, which it plans to monetize at some point as well.
While the new screenshots provide a deeper look into Instagram’s product plans on that front, we should point out that a feature in development is not necessarily representative of how a feature will look or ultimately behave at launch. It’s also not a definitive promise of a public launch – in which case, however, it would be hard to imagine Instagram abandoning its members-only content plans as it has a broader interest in serving YouTubers where such a feature is essentially part of from is a basic offer.
