Effective today, April 4, 2018, Instagram deployed changes to their API without advance notice, affecting all users of the Instagram API.
The user-generated content currently in use on your properties is not affected. However, there are some changes to TINT functionality due to these changes that all customers should be aware of:
Effect on your TINT accounts
- Aggregating posts from any unowned Instagram (IG) accounts (@username) is no longer possible
- Aggregating hashtag content still works, but is affected by additional rate limiting
- Aggregating posts from any IG handle that you have login credentials for still works. If you owned @TINT Instagram handle with login credentials, you can still aggregate posts from that account.
- Acquiring rights for IG posts via commenting through TINT is no longer possible (alternative solution below)
- Author profile images and full names are no longer aggregated and will no longer show on posts in TINT
- Author username handle (@username) will still exist and show up on posts
- IG followers data are no longer accessible
- Filtering posts by followers in the TINT filter bar will no longer be available
- Impact analytics (ie impressions) will be affected
Changes we’re making to the TINT platform to reflect Instagram’s new API
- Removing the ability to connect any IG handles that you do not have login credentials for
- You will still be able to add any IG handle that you have login credentials for. For example, if you owned @TINT Instagram handle with login credentials, you can still aggregate posts from that account.
- Changing the rights acquisition flow for IG posts to use IG direct messages instead of commenting
- Adding placeholders for author profile photos on IG posts
- IG posts from your own branded account that you have login credentials for will continue to have profile photos and author full name
- Removing the ability to filter by follower count for IG feeds in the TINT filter bar
We are aware that these changes are sudden, but we are working hard to abide by Instagram’s changes while still providing the best-in-class solutions for our customers. And rest assured, your existing content is unaffected by these changes. We will continue to monitor any changes and communicate with you as we learn more.
In response to Instagram’s API changes, TINT hosted a webinar on April 18, 2018 to demonstrate our new feature releases, future plans and provide an open Q&A portion. Watch a recording of the webinar now!
As always, you can contact us if you have any questions.
