Instagram has just announced that they are handling @mentions on their own platform more carefully.

The basic idea behind the latest updates is to improve the compatibility with Twitter handles.

This should resolve issues when you mention someone on Instagram who has a different handle on Twitter.

The company said:

For photos shared to Twitter, Instagram now translates @mentions for users whose Twitter username and Instagram username differ.

Here is how it works:

If the @mentioned user has connected Instagram to Twitter:
- The user’s Instagram username will appear in the photo caption
- The user’s Twitter username will appear in the tweet

If the @mentioned user has not connected Instagram to Twitter:
- The user’s Instagram username will appear in the photo caption
- The @ sign will be removed from the username when shared to Twitter

For @mentions that do not match any Instagram usernames, the @ sign will remain when shared to Twitter.