Opening Instagram app from a link on iOS

Question

I am providing a feed which is consumed by both desktop and mobile apps which contains links to images, users, and tags on Instagram. When these links are clicked on iOS, I want them to open in the Instagram app.

Currently if I have a link like this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BK8f1rigadE/

If I click it in iOS, the Instagram app does open, just briefly. It then seems to launch Safari to the page, which includes an "open in app" link to open it back up in the app. That link uses the "instagram://" protocol to trigger the app to open. I'm aware of that method, but that's not what I'm after.

I'm on iOS 10 with the latest Instagram app. I feel like this used to work, so I'm wondering if it's just a bug in iOS or Instagram that will be fixed eventually.

Links to twitter.com open properly in the Twitter app... that's the kind of behavior I'm after.

Answer 1

I found a service called URL Genius (via this blog post) that solves this exact problem, and provides click metrics, too.

I don't like relying on an external service for such an important link, but it's easy, works well, and the basic service is free. I will probably set a reminder for myself to check that this still works every month or so...

Answer 2

Links like this work to open the app: instagram://media?id=1346423547953773636_401375631

However I want a regular http link, which opens a browser on desktop, and the app on mobile. Not sure if it exists.