Instagram Marketing
Instagram is famous for its compelling, visual imagery. After all, people on social media love visual content. Whether it’s your…
Carole Foy
Last Update: July 2023
Instagram is famous for its compelling, visual imagery. After all, people on social media love visual content. Whether it’s your stunning wedding photos, graduation snapshots, updates on your life, or amateur photography, there’s no better place to share your favorite images than Instagram.
However, there’s always one aspect you initially thought was great, only to discover a typo, missing tag, or no location after posting.
Fortunately, it’s a straightforward process to edit an Instagram post, even after publishing. In this guide, let’s explore your options:
How to Edit a Post on Instagram After Posting
While Instagram is one of the few social networks that allow you to edit your posts, you can only edit a few elements after publishing your photo or video. These include:
- Captions
- Tags
- Location
- Alternative text
As such, if you’re wondering how to edit Instagram pictures after posting, or how to replace a photo on Instagram, it’s not possible. Instead, let’s explore what edits you can make, based on your device:
How to Edit a Post on Instagram Using Android App
- Open the Instagram app on your Android
- Log into your Instagram account
- Find the post you’d like to edit
- Tap the three vertical dots above the post
- Tap Edit
- Add or edit captions
- Tap Add Location to add your location or tap Find a Location instead
- Tap Tag People and tap anywhere in your photo
- Enter a name or username to tag your friends
- Tap the X next to a tagged username to remove the tag
- Tap Edit Alt Text to edit alternative text
- Write or edit the alt text
- Tap the blue tick to save the changes
How to Edit Instagram Pic Using iPhone App
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Go to the post you’d like to edit
- Tap the three horizontal dots above the post
- Tap Edit
- Add or edit captions
- Tap Add Location or Change Location to edit your location
- Tap Tag people and tap anywhere in your photo
- Enter a name or username to tag your friends
- Tap the X next to a tagged username to remove the tag
- Tap Edit Alt Text to edit alternative text
- Write or edit the alt text
- Tap Done
How to Edit an Instagram Post Using Instagram Lite App
- Open the Instagram Lite app on your device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Find the post you’d like to edit
- Tap the three vertical dots above it
- Tap Edit
- Add or edit captions
- Tap Add Location or Find a Location and then enter your location
- Tap Tag people and tap anywhere in your photo
- Enter a name or username to tag your friends
- Tap the X next to a tagged username to remove the tag
- Tap Edit Alt Text to edit alternative text
- Write or edit the alt text
- Tap Save
How to Edit Photos on Instagram Using a Computer
- Open a web browser on your computer
- Go to www.instagram.com
- Log into your Instagram account
- Go to the post you’d like to edit
- Click the three vertical dots above the post
- Click Edit
- Add or edit captions
- Click Add Location or click the X icon to edit your location
- Click anywhere on your photo and type a username to tag people
- Click the X next to a username to remove the tag
- Click Accessibility to write an alt text
- Click Done
How to Edit a Photo on Instagram Before Posting
One study shows that a majority of social media users prefer editing photos before posting them. Another study also shows that 90% of women edit or filter their photos.
The good news is, Instagram has several built-in tools you can use to edit your photos. You can change the contrast, brightness, and color or add filters and effects to your pictures before posting.
The most popular Instagram editing tools include:
- Adjust – Changes your photo’s vertical or horizontal orientation.
- Brightness – Make your photo brighter or darker.
- Structure – Brings out the texture and detail in your photo.
- Contrast – Makes the dark areas of your photo darker and bright spots brighter.
- Warmth – Changes the tone of your photo from warmer orange to cooler blue.
- Fade – Makes your photo appear aged or old.
- Color – Adds color to the highlights and shadows of your photo.
- Saturation – Increases or decreases your photo’s color intensity.
- Sharpen – Adds crispness to your Instagram photo.
- Vignette – Darkens the edges of your photo.
- Highlights – Adjusts the focus on the brighter areas of your photo.
- Shadows – Adjusts the focus on the darker areas of your photo.
- Magic wand – Balances exposure and increases brightness.
- Tilt shift – Creates a shallow depth of field.
Here’s how to edit photos in Instagram before sharing, using Instagram editing tools:
- Open the Instagram app on your device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the plus (+) sign
- Tap Post at the bottom to open your phone library, or tap the camera icon to take a new photo
- Select the photo you want to upload
- Tap Next
- Tap the filter you’d like to apply
- Tap Edit at the bottom
- Tap the effect you’d like to apply to your photo
- Or tap the three-star icon to apply effects to a video
- Tap Done to save your changes
- Tap Next to tag people or add a location or caption
- Tap Share or the blue tick to post your edited photo
If you’re interested in how to replace a photo on Instagram after posting it, you’ll be disappointed. Even if you selected the wrong one when building a carousel, or the brightness or contrast is unbalanced, or you centered the image wrong when resizing, there’s no way to replace it after publishing.
The most you can do is delete the image or rearrange its placement in a collection of photos, but only if it’s in a carousel (a collection of several photos in a single post). You cannot add or replace them, even in a carousel. Worse yet, if you’ve only published a single photo in a standalone post, the only solution is to pull down the entire post and re-post it with a replacement picture.
Here are the steps for this:
On Android App
- Open the Instagram app on your Android
- Log into your Instagram account
- Find the post you’d like to replace
- Tap the three vertical dots above it
- Tap Delete
- Tap Delete again to confirm your selection
- Tap the plus (+) sign at the top
- Tap Post at the bottom to open your phone library
- Select the photo you want to upload as a replacement, or take a new photo
- Tap the Next arrow to tag people or add a caption, location, music, filters, or effects
- Once done, tap the blue tick to post
On iPhone App
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Go to the post you’d like to replace
- Tap the three horizontal dots above the post
- Tap Delete
- Tap Delete again to confirm your selection
- Tap the plus (+) sign at the top
- Tap Post at the bottom to open your phone library, or tap the camera icon to take a new photo
- Select the photo you want to upload as a replacement
- Tap Next to tag people or add a caption, location, music, filters, or effects
- Once done, tap Share
On Instagram Lite App
- Open the Instagram Lite app on your device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Find the post you’d like to replace
- Tap the three vertical dots above it
- Tap Delete
- Tap Delete again to confirm your selection
- Tap the plus (+) sign at the bottom
- Select a photo from your phone’s library, or tap the camera icon to take a new photo
- Tap Next to tag people or add a location
- Once done, tap Share
On Computer
- Open a web browser on your computer
- Go to www.instagram.com
- Log into your Instagram account
- Go to the post you’d like to replace
- Click the three vertical dots above the post
- Click Delete
- Click Delete again to confirm your selection
- Click the plus sign on the left
- Click Select from Computer or drag and drop a photo from your gallery
- Select the size of your photo
- Click Next in the top right
- Edit your picture by clicking Filters or Adjustments
- Click Next to tag people, add a caption, location, or alt text
- You can Turn Off Commenting by clicking Advanced Settings
- Once done, click Share in the top right
On a Mobile Browser
- Open a browser on your mobile device
- Go to www.instagram.com
- Log into your Instagram account
- Go to the post you’d like to replace
- Tap the three vertical dots above the post
- Tap Delete
- Tap Delete again to confirm your selection
- Tap the plus (+) sign
- Tap Post
- Select a photo from your phone’s library or tap the white circle to take a new photo
- Tap Done
- Tap Next to tag people or add filters, effects, music, a location, or a caption
- Tap Share to post the replacement
How to Add a Photo on Instagram After Posting
Unfortunately, you cannot add photos to an Instagram post after publishing. Instagram does not have such a feature, although you can delete or re-order images if they’re in a carousel.
Nonetheless, you can add the missing photos to your Instagram story instead, rather than taking the original post down and starting over. Here’s how to add a photo on your Instagram story after posting:
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap Your Story to open your existing story
- Select your avatar
- Tap your photo gallery
- Select the picture you want to add
- Instagram will automatically add the photo to your story
FAQs
Can you add photos to an Instagram post after posting?
Unfortunately, you cannot add photos to an Instagram post after posting. Instagram does not allow any further changes to the images after the post is published. However, you can add photos to your Instagram story instead.
How do you add photos to an Instagram post?
You can add photos to an Instagram post before publishing. Instagram allows you to upload up to 10 pictures or videos in one post, known as a carousel.
- First, tap the Plus (+) sign to open your photo gallery
- Next, tap Post, then tap the Select Multiple button
- Select up to 10 pictures and videos from your phone’s gallery
- Once done, tap Next
- Edit your photos by tapping a filter, then tap Next
- Add a location or caption and tag people if you wish
- Tap Share to post your photos.
Why can’t I edit my Instagram post?
You might not be able to edit your Instagram post if the photo or video is in a format unsupported by Instagram. Internet connection issues can also prevent you from editing, and your phone’s permission settings can lead to editing problems. Be sure to check these factors, and restart your phone if they persist.
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