Twitter is reportedly readying its own Instagram-like photo filters to be launched with new versions of its iOS and Android apps before year-end.
This comes on the back of news that Instagram has officially removed all support for Twitter cards, meaning that Instagram images no longer appear in the tweet stream in any way apart from links that direct users to the Instagram Web site.
Last week, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed the popular photo-sharing service had removed the ability for its images to be displayed fully on Twitter, but at the time the pictures were still appearing at least partially as cropped versions of the original.
Systrom did, however, say his company intended on stopping its images from being visible on Twitter completely, but he did not offer a timeline for when this would be implemented.
According to Systrom, the decision was taken because it made sense for the company to grow its own Web site, and he reiterated that it was not in retaliation to Twitter's decision to revoke Instagram's access to its 'Find Friends' API earlier this year. The two services have become increasingly competitive with one another following Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and the launch of Instagram's own Web platform (the service used to be limited to mobile apps).
Yesterday, as users started to notice the gaping blank spaces where Instagram photos used to appear in tweets, Twitter posted an update saying: "Instagram has disabled photo integration with Twitter. As a result, photos are no longer appearing in Tweets or user photo galleries. While tweeting links to Instagram photos is still possible, you can no longer view the photos on Twitter, as was previously the case."
AllThingsD reports sources familiar with the matter say Twitter is pushing hard for the release of its own photo filters as soon as possible. The inclusion of images in tweets is also a key part of the micro-blogging site's goal to see more rich media in the tweet stream, and to keep users within the Twitter eco-system.
Meanwhile, Instagram and Twitter users alike have expressed their feelings about the lack of Instagram images in the tweet stream:
"Annoyed at Instagram for getting rid of the Twitter integration. I hate actually clicking the Instagram link to view a photo."
Some users were pleased with the prospect of seeing less photos of food on Twitter: "I applaud Instagram's decision to pull Twitter support. Ideally, everyone will just stop using Instagram now."
Others were less than happy: "Whoa. Twitter and Instagram aren't connected anymore? Excuse me, but do you know how bad my Twitter profile looks now? #selfish"
"In light of the recent developments, I think it is only fair that Twitter disable Instagram's Twitter account," quipped another user.
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