With Later, you can schedule Multi-Photo (carousel) posts to Instagram for Auto Publish or notification publishing. 

This article covers how to schedule and publish Instagram posts that contain multiple images, videos, or a combination of both. For other Instagram post types, see the following articles:

• Schedule & Publish Instagram Single-Photo Posts
• Schedule & Publish Instagram Reels
• Schedule & Publish Instagram Stories

Important:

• Scheduling Instagram Multi-Photo posts is available on current paid plans
• While Instagram supports up to 20 images or videos in a carousel post natively in their app, they only allow a maximum of 10 images or videos to be included in a post scheduled through third-parties like Later
  • This is due to API limitations set by Instagram
  • If you want to publish a Multi-Photo post that contains more than 10 images or videos, it must be done directly through Instagram at this time

Schedule a Multi-Photo Post to Instagram

Before you can schedule an Instagram post through Later, you’ll need to connect your Instagram business or creator profile. This authorizes Later to securely schedule posts on your behalf.

Once connected, you can schedule Multi-Photo Instagram post through Later as follows:

Desktop

You can schedule Multi-Photo Instagram posts through Later for desktop as follows:

1. Through Later for desktop, select your Instagram profile from the top of your Calendar:
   
2. From the left sidebar, select Create Post
   You can also create a post by dragging multiple media items to a time slot on the Calendar, or by selecting multiple media items in the Side Library and then selecting Multi-Photo Post.
3. Choose your desired publishing method (Auto Publish or notification publish) from the dropdown menu, and select the date and time:
   • If you can’t select notification publishing as an option, you might not have a mobile device set up with Later yet—for details, see Managing Mobile Devices & Notifications
4. Select Add Media

5. Once you’ve added the first media item, you can drag additional items to the lower section to create a Multi-Photo post:
   

   • Dragging a new media item to the upper section will replace the current item
   • From the lower section, you can also rearrange the media items by dragging & dropping, or remove them by selecting the X that appears when you hover over them
   Note: You can add up to 10 media items to Multi-Photo Instagram posts that are scheduled through Later. While Instagram allows up to 20 media items in their app, their API limitations restrict third-parties like Later to a maximum of 10 at this time.
6. Once you’ve added all your media items, select Save Changes
7. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by selecting the highlighted (in red) media item(s) in the Post Builder > Edit Image:
   
8. Enter a caption for your post
   • Alternatively, select a Saved Caption or generate something with Caption Writer

9. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:

   Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). If you have notification publishing selected as your publishing method, these options won’t be shown.
   • Schedule a First Comment
   • Add a link for your Link in Bio feed
   • Tag users or locations
   • Select Invite Collaborator to invite up to 3 collaborators to this post
     • They'll appear as tagged users until the invitation is accepted
   • Tag an Instagram Shop product
10. When you’re done adding media, select Save Changes
    • You can get back to your media items by selecting Change Media from the Post Builder

iOS

You can schedule Multi-Photo Instagram posts through Later’s iOS app as follows:

1. From the Schedule tab of Later’s iOS app, tap your Instagram profile from the options at the top of the screen:
   
2. Select the create post icon near the bottom right:
   
   You can also create a post by long-pressing any open time slot in the Calendar view.
3. Tap the + icon to select or upload your media items
4. Tap your media items to select them
5. Tap Add x Media Items:
   
6. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) media item(s) in the Post Builder:
   
7. Enter a caption for your post > Done
   • Alternatively, select a Saved Caption or generate something with Caption Writer using the icons at the bottom of the screen

8. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:

   Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). Some options that are only available on Later for desktop won’t be shown.
   • Schedule a First Comment
   • Add a link for your Link in Bio feed
   • Tag users or locations
   • Under More Options, select Invite Collaborator to invite up to 3 collaborators to this post
     • They'll appear as tagged users until the invitation is accepted
9. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
10. Tap Change next to No Time Selected to choose a date and time for publishing:
    
    • Alternatively, tap Now under Select a Time to publish now
11. Tap Schedule Post
    • Alternatively, tap Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

Android

You can schedule Multi-Photo Instagram posts through Later’s Android app as follows:

1. From the Schedule tab of Later’s Android app, tap your Instagram profile from the options at the top of the screen:
   
2. Select the create post icon near the bottom right:
   
   You can also create a post by long-pressing any open time slot in the Calendar view.
3. Tap the + icon to select or upload your media items
4. Tap and hold on your first media item to select it
5. Once the first item is selected, select the remaining media items
6. Tap Add x Media Items:
   
7. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) media item(s) in the Post Builder:
   
8. Enter a caption for your post > Save
   • Alternatively, select a Saved Caption or generate something with Caption Writer using the icons at the bottom of the screen

9. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:

   Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). Some options that are only available on Later for desktop or iOS, such as adding collaborators, won’t be shown.
   • Schedule a First Comment
   • Add a link for your Link in Bio feed
   • Tag users or locations
10. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
    
11. Tap Change next to No Time Selected to choose a date and time for publishing:
    
12. Tap Save
13. Tap Schedule Post
    • Alternatively, tap Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

Publish an Instagram Multi-Photo Post Using Notification Publishing

If you schedule your Multi-Photo Instagram post using Auto Publish, there is no further action required—your post will be published automatically at its scheduled time. 

If you schedule it for notification publishing, you’ll need to open the notification sent to your device at your post’s scheduled time and complete the publishing process, as follows:

iOS

You can publish an Instagram Multi-Photo post through notification publishing on iOS as follows:

1. Open the push notification on your iOS device:
   

   Note: If you miss your post notification, you can still access and publish your post through Later’s mobile apps. See Missed Post Notifications for details.

2. In the Later app, tap Open in Instagram

   Note: At this stage, you may be prompted to allow Later access to your Photo Library—if so, tap Allow Full Access (this is so you can access the media items for your post).
   
   You may also be prompted to Allow Paste from Later (this allows you to easily paste your post captions, which Later will automatically copy for you).
3. In the Instagram app, tap the + new post icon
4. Tap Instagram’s carousel post icon to select multiple media items:
   
5. Select your post’s media items by tapping them
   • Your media items will have been automatically downloaded to your Camera Roll
   • You’ll know when to stop when you reach the Later graphic with the blue hand:
     
6. Tap Next
7. Make any desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
8. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
9. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
10. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share

Android

You can publish an Instagram Multi-Photo post through notification publishing on Android as follows:

1. Open the push notification on your Android device:
   

   Note: If you miss your post notification, you can still access and publish your post through Later’s mobile apps. See Missed Post Notifications for details.

2. In the Later app, tap Open in Instagram

   • Confirm you are logged in to the right Instagram profile, and tap OK
   Note: At this stage, you may be prompted to allow Later access to photos, media, and files on your device—if so, tap Allow (this is so you can access the media items for your post).
3. In the Instagram app, tap the + new post icon
4. Tap Select Multiple or Instagram’s carousel icon to select multiple media items:
   
5. Select your post’s media items by tapping them
   • Your media items will have been automatically downloaded to your image gallery
   • You’ll know when to stop when you reach the Later graphic with the blue hand:
     
6. Tap Next
7. Crop or edit your photo if desired, then tap Next or →
8. Make any other desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
9. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
10. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
11. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share