Instagram introduces new ‘Personal Fundraiser’ feature that allows users to donate money to individuals or causes they care about within the app
- Users in the US, UK and Ireland will be the first to test the fundraiser feature
- Fundraisers will be checked by Instagram employees to ensure they are eligible
- A user must be aged over 18 in order to establish their own fundraiser event
Instagram is rolling out a feature to allow people to raise money for personal causes on the platform.
It will be trialled initially in the US, UK and Ireland and builds on an increase in the number of people using the platform to raise awareness of certain issues.
For example, in June, many members of the social network participated in #blackouttuesday to raise awareness of social and racial injustice in the US.
Now, Instagram is trialling letting people donate money within the app, which can go to a range of causes including charities, medical bills or small businesses.
Instagram says it is currently working on ways to promote fundraisers in both the main feed and in Stories, and these will be rolled out in the coming months.
The Facebook-owned app told MailOnline it does not make any money from fundraisers but states there is a processing fee which varies by country.
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Instagram is rolling out a feature to allow people to raise money for personal causes on the platform. It will be trialled initially in the US, UK and Ireland
Donations from the app have doubled in the last month and donation-related posts have increased by more than 200 per cent in the same timeframe, Instagram says.
In order to establish a fundraiser, a user has to be at least 18 years of age, and the fundraising campaign must run for a minimum of 30 days.
Instagram says it will have a review process in place for each fundraiser to ensure the cause is eligible.
Instagram is trialling letting people donate money for charities, medical bills or even for small businesses
Donations on the app have doubled in the last month and donation-related posts increased by more than 200 per cent, Instagram says. In order to establish a fundraiser, a user has to be at least 18 years of age and run for 30 days at a time
Although only users in the US, UK and Ireland will be able to start fundraisers currently, donations can come from anywhere in the world where Instagram already offers a donation sticker
Although only users in the US, UK and Ireland will be able to start fundraisers initially, donations can come from anywhere in the world where Instagram already offers a donation sticker.
As with other fundraiser sites, a user can choose whether to remain anonymous or not when donating.
Users can create a fundraiser by tapping ‘Edit Profile,’ ‘Add Fundraiser’ and ‘Raise Money.’
There will also be the option to add images, choose a category and add more detailed information about the campaign.
They’ll be able to add a photo, select a fundraiser category and add information to their fundraiser.
Instagram has partnered with Stripe to process the money that will be donated via fundraisers.
If a user suspects a fundraiser is fraudulent, illegitimate or disingenuous then they can report the fundraiser for investigation.