With Later, you can schedule single-photo posts to Instagram for Auto Publish or notification publishing. Scheduling single-photo Instagram posts is available on all plans, including Free.

This article covers how to schedule and publish Instagram posts containing one image. For other Instagram post types r, see the following articles:

• Schedule & Publish Instagram Multi-Photo (Carousel) Posts
• Schedule & Publish Instagram Reels
• Schedule & Publish Instagram Stories

Schedule a Single-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 you've connected your Instagram profile, you can schedule single-photo Instagram posts through Later as follows:

Desktop

You can schedule single-photo Instagram posts through Later for desktop as follows:

1. From Later for desktop, select your Instagram profile from the top of your Calendar:
   

2. From the left sidebar, select Create Post
    

   Tip: You can also create a post by dragging a media item to a time slot on the Calendar.
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. Drag & drop the image you’d like to include in your post, or select Upload Media to upload a new file
   • If you’d like to include more than one media item in your post, see Schedule & Publish Instagram Multi-Photo (Carousel) Posts
6. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by selecting Edit Image:
   
7. Enter a caption for your post
   • Alternatively, select a Saved Caption or generate something with Caption Writer

8. [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
9. Select Schedule Post
   • Alternatively, select the down arrow next to the Schedule Post button > Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

iOS

You can schedule single-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:
   

   Tip: 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 image
4. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) image in the Post Builder:
   
5. 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

6. [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
   • Select Invite Collaborator to invite up to 3 collaborators to this post
     • They'll appear as tagged users until the invitation is accepted
7. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
8. 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
9. 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 single-image 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:
   

   Tip: 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 image
4. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) image in the Post Builder:
   
5. 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

6. [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
7. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
   
8. Tap Change next to No Time Selected to choose a date and time for publishing:
   
9. Tap Save
10. Tap Schedule Post
    • Alternatively, tap Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

If you selected Auto Publish as your publishing method, your post will automatically go live at its scheduled time—no further action required!

If you selected Send Notification as your publishing method, you’ll be sent a notification on your mobile device at your post’s scheduled time. You’ll need to open this notification to manually complete the publishing process. For more details, see below.

Publish an Instagram Single-Photo Post Using Notification Publishing

If you schedule your post 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 single-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 Later 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 Feed for a feed post
4. Tap Next
   • Your media item will already be selected
5. Make any desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
6. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
7. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
8. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share

Android

You can publish an Instagram single-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 Later can access the media items for your post).
3. Tap Feed for a feed post
4. In the Instagram app, crop or edit your photo if desired, then tap Next or →
5. Make any other desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
6. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
7. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
8. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share