Instagram Help Center

To upload a photo or take a new one, first tap at the bottom of the screen:

• To upload a photo from your phone's library, tap Library (iOS) or Gallery (Android) at the bottom of the screen and select the photo you'd like to share.
• To take a new photo, tap Photo at the bottom of the screen then tap . You can tap to switch between front and rear-facing cameras and to adjust flash.

Once you've taken or uploaded a photo, you can add effects or filters, a caption and your location before posting. You can also post a video.

Note: You can't take or upload photos from a desktop computer.

To upload a video or record a new one, first tap at the bottom of the screen:

• To upload a video from your phone's library, tap Library (iPhone) or Gallery (Android) at the bottom of the screen and select the video you'd like to share.
• To record a video, tap Video at the bottom of the screen. Tap and hold to start recording, and lift your finger to stop. You can tap and hold again to record multiple video clips and tap to switch between cameras.

Keep in mind that the maximum video length is 60 seconds. Once you've recorded or uploaded a video, you can add a filter, a caption and your location before sharing.

Note: You can't take or upload videos from a desktop computer.

Instagram Direct lets you send messages to one or more people. You can send the following things as a message on Instagram Direct:

• Photos or videos you take or upload from your library
• Posts you see in Feed
• Disappearing photos and videos
• Profiles
• Text
• Hashtags
• Locations

To see messages you've sent with Instagram Direct, tap in the top right of Feed. From there, you can manage the messages you've sent and received.

When you send a post from Feed using Instagram Direct, it'll only visible to people who can already see it. For example, if you send a post from a private account as a message, only people who follow that account will be able to see it.

Photos or videos sent with Instagram Direct can't be shared through Instagram to other sites like Facebook or Twitter, and won't appear on hashtag and location pages.

Connect contacts

To find people to follow on Instagram, you can look through people from your contact list:

1. Go to your profile and tap .
2. Tap Discover People > Contacts.
3. Tap Connect Contacts > Allow Access.
4. Tap Follow next to the people you'd like to follow.

Learn more about what happens when you connect Instagram to your phone's contact list. You can also tap at the bottom of the screen to search for people you'd like to follow.

Disconnect contacts

To disconnect your contacts:

1. Go to your profile and tap .
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Account > Contacts Syncing.
4. Tap next to Connect Contacts to turn off contact syncing.
5. Tap Disconnect.

We’re always working to update the types of photos and videos you see in Search & Explore to better tailor it to you. Posts are selected automatically based on things like the people you follow or the posts you like.

Learn more about what you can do if you see posts you don't like in Search & Explore.