Update: Nick Bilton of the New York Times has provided some tips on how to get around the Twitter barrier so that your Instagram photos appear on the Twitter website and Twitter’s mobile clients. The options do add several steps to the sharing process, however.
Beginning today, Instagram has disabled Twitter cards integration, which means that Instagram photos will not display properly on the Twitter website or in applications. Users’ photos appear may appear slightly off-center or cropped when viewed in locations other than Instagram or its website. Twitter addressed the issue in an official statement this morning.
The move is intended to drive more users to Instagram’s recently-launched web profiles. CEO Kevin Systrom noted that the company plans to eventually stop Instagram photos from being visible at all on Twitter. Instead, clicking the link to the photo will take the user directly to Instagram’s website, rather than showing a preview.
According to Systrom, Instagram photos displayed on other integrated services, including Facebook, Foursquare, and Tumblr will not be affected at this time.
Systrom said that this decision came from him and not Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company acquired Instagram in April for $1 billion. As the two companies’ relationship evolves, so too will their interactions with outside companies, such as Twitter.
Information Space will have more on this story as details are revealed throughout the day.