Instagram to add a donation feature to Stories

In November, Facebook announced that over $1 billion had been raised via the Charitable Giving feature on Facebook. The company, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, acquired Instagram in 2012 and will be adding a “Donation” sticker within the Stories section of the app, in which users can upload photos that disappear after 24 hours.

There will be no processing fee for donations made via the new sticker on Instagram. The feature will simply allow users to give money to non-profit organisations, with the entire fee going to charity. Charities have had Donation buttons enabled on Facebook pages since 2015, with individuals able to set up personal fundraisers since 2017.

“Community is the backbone of Facebook. It’s what drives us to improve our products and build new ones,” said Ime Archibong, VP of Product Partnerships, said in a statement. “It’s why we’re so committed to the inspiring leaders who are working every day to bring people together around important issues, shared passions and common causes.”

As well as the donation feature on Instagram, Facebook will be bringing their Blood Donations feature to the US in the next few months. The feature was launched in India in 2017 to bring blood donors together, as the company recognised the shortage of safe blood South Asia.

Instagram Stories was launched in 2016, and similar expiring photo features have swept across other apps like Facebook and WhatsApp since.