Instagram is introducing a new tagging tool for influencers and brands in a bid to boost transparency.

Starting from today (14 June), Instagram users will begin to see a ‘paid partner with’ tag on posts and stories in which creators have worked with a third party.

This update will “boost transparency and authenticity” so an Instagram user, for example, will be able to identify whether someone like Kim Kardashian is posting a personal image or actually endorsing a product.

The tag also comes with engagement insights for all the parties involved in making the post. This means when the partners use the ‘paid partners with’ tag they will be given unique insights into how their post has performed in terms of reach and engagement.

In the UK, Adidas, Volvo and Manchester United are among the first brands to trial the new tag, which will be rolled out more widely over the summer. According to Charles Porch, creative programmes director at Instagram, the aim is to make influencer-brand relationships “more transparent and obvious” to its 700 million-plus users.

He also says the tag is just the “first step in ensuring transparency of paid partnerships on Instagram”.

The move follows guidelines set out by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) in the UK around the use of influencers and paid content back in March. If an influencer’s content on a platform such as Instagram is fully based around the affiliated products, CAP advised it necessary to put ‘Ad’ in the title of the post so that it is clear the material is an advertisement before the user clicks through to the content.

And just last year the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had written to 13 marketing companies, 20 businesses and 33 publishers of online articles and blogs, to warn them that helping to arrange or publish advertising or other marketing that is not clearly distinguishable from the opinion of a journalist or blogger may result in them breaking the law.