Why Are There White Bars Added To My Instagram Photos?

Posting to Instagram varies depending on the type of content you are publishing and the type of Instagram Profile you have. 

And with direct publishing for Instagram Business and Creator Profiles now making it easier than ever to keep your Instagram followers engaged with new content, SmarterQueue is going one step further into making sure you don't need to take any unnecessary steps. ✨

That is why we've made sure that any images that are too wide or too tall for your Instagram Feed will be adapted and published with no issue. 💪

In This Article

How Does Publishing Different Size Images Work With Instagram?

Instagram's API only supports photos of a specific ratio (between 4:5, and 1.91:1) for posts to the feed. Normally, if you'd add an image to your post that is taller or wider than these ratios, we wouldn't be able to publish it directly.

Instead, we would need to send a mobile or email notification, so you could publish the post manually - this would allow you to post the image cropped to fit on Instagram.

To avoid having to take extra steps to post or have your images cropped unnecessarily, we've made sure that your content is Instagram API-ready without you needing to take any additional steps. 

By adding white padding to your image, we are able to adapt its ratio to Instagram's specific requirements while ensuring that the image you intended is shared with your audience. 

How Does SmarterQueue Directly Publish Different Size Images To Instagram?

The first time you create an image post for your Instagram Business Profile you'll see a prompt letting you know about Instagram's limitations:

Moving forward, SmarterQueue will automatically add white padding to your image and save you the hassle of having to manually edit the images that don't fit in Instagram's feed before creating your post.

And if you don't want to publish to Instagram Directly (or you're scheduling posts to an Instagram Personal Profile), you will be able to publish manually, via the SmarterQueue Mobile App, and crop your image in the Instagram App, including the padding. 

NOTE: Switching the Instagram Post Type to Story will switch the image requirements. In the example above, the padding is removed as Story posts can directly publish if the image is between 9:16 (tall) and 1.91:1 (wide) .

NOTE: When cross-posting, the padding is only applied to the image used for your Instagram post. For the rest of the social profiles you've selected, the image will remain in its original aspect ratio.

How Can I Avoid White Bars Being Added To My Image?

There might be times when you'd rather go a different way with your images and would prefer cropping instead of padding. 

Adding padding adapts your image's aspect ratio to Instagram's specific requirements and ensures that no cropping is needed, but we want to make sure you can go a different way when needed. 👍

To avoid white bars being added to your image, simply switch your post to "🔔 Get a Reminder" instead of "⚡ Attempt Direct-Publishing".

When it's time to publish the post, you'll get a mobile notification with the original image in the SmarterQueue Mobile App and you'll be able to create the desired post.

Simply follow the manual notification workflow for iOS or Android, depending on your device.

Note: The image will be too tall/wide for Instagram, but you will be able to choose how it's cropped

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