I run Pocket Factory, which sells pre-programmed NFC cards, so I have a stake in this topic. Everything below works with a blank tag and a free app. You don't need to buy anything from me.

Here's a common question for a coffee counter: "Can I leave a card by the register that opens our Instagram when someone taps it?" Yes. But a few details decide whether the card works for every customer or only for some of them. This post covers those details: what to write to the tag, how iPhone and Android handle it, how much memory you need, when to lock the tag, where to put it, and how to test it.

If you've read my earlier post on writing a Google review link to an NFC tag , the chip side is the same. What's different here is the Instagram link and the coffee counter.

TL;DR

Decision Do this Why

Link format https://www.instagram.com/yourhandle/ as an NDEF URI record iPhone background reading and Android both handle https; Instagram opens the app if it's installed

Don't use instagram://user?username=...…