Team Collaboration and Content Approvals

With Later's collaboration tools, you can communicate with teammates directly on scheduled and draft posts, run a content approval workflow, and share posts for external feedback. All of this is available without leaving Later.

Before you start:

• Team collaboration and content approvals are only available on Later for desktop, not mobile
• Instagram Stories aren't supported for collaboration or content approvals

Roles and Permissions

The table below shows what each user role can do:

Invite Your Team

To invite a teammate:

1. From Later for desktop, select Settings > Users
2. Select Invite User
3. Enter their name and email address
4. Select Send Invite

Your teammate will receive an email to create a password. They need to accept the invite before you can add them to specific Access Groups.

Assign Roles

By default, newly invited users have the Member role. Members can collaborate and request approval but can't approve content themselves. They can schedule posts, which will publish regardless of approval status.

To grant approval permissions or restrict a user from publishing without approval:

1. From Later for desktop, select Settings > Social Sets and Access Groups
2. Select Edit next to the relevant Access Group
3. Select the Users tab
4. Select Edit next to the user you want to update
5. Toggle Reviewer on to allow this user to approve posts
6. Toggle Publish Without Approval off to prevent this user from scheduling posts before they're approved

Content Approvals

Watch the following tutorial to learn more about setting up approval workflows in Later: 

Request Content Approval

All users in a Later account can request approvals, including Reviewers. Here's how:

1. Create a new post from Later for desktop
2. In the lower right of the Post Builder, check the box next to Submit for Approval
3. Either schedule the post or save it as a draft

Once submitted, all Reviewers in the account receive an email notification. The request also appears in the Notification Center for Scale plan users.

Approve Content

To review and approve content, you need the Reviewer role. Here's how:

1. From Later for desktop, select List above the Calendar
2. If you have content awaiting approval, a blue banner appears at the top of List view
3. Select the blue circle with the number to filter automatically for all content requiring approval
4. Review each post and select ✔ Approve, or select ✕ Request changes to leave a feedback comment

You can also approve a post by selecting it from the Calendar and using the banner at the top of the Post Builder.

The user who requested approval will receive an email when their content is approved. On Scale plans, they'll also receive an in-app notification.

Make Changes and Resubmit for Approval

If a Reviewer selects Request changes, they can leave a feedback comment explaining what needs to be updated. The person who submitted the post can then edit the post and submit it for approval again.

To make changes and resubmit:

1. From Later for desktop, open the post from your Calendar, List view, email notification, or Notification Center if available
2. Review the feedback in the activity log or comment section
3. Make the requested changes to the post
4. Check Submit for Approval again if it isn’t already selected
5. Save the post as a draft or schedule it again

Once the post is submitted again, Reviewers will receive a new approval request notification.

Common Resubmission Scenarios

If your post is saved as a draft:
Make the requested edits, then submit it for approval again. The post won’t publish until you schedule it.

If your post is already scheduled:
Make the requested edits and resubmit it for approval. The post will still publish at its scheduled time, even if it hasn’t been approved yet. To prevent this, save the post as a draft or move the scheduled date and time.

If you don’t see the option to schedule after making changes:
Your account role may not allow publishing without approval. In this case, you can save the post as a draft and submit it for approval again.

If the reviewer left a comment but didn’t select Request changes:
You can still make edits based on the comment, but reviewers may not receive a new approval request unless the post is submitted for approval again. If needed, leave a comment to let the reviewer know the changes are ready.

If you’re on a Scale plan:
Approval requests, approvals, and comments may appear in the Notification Center.

If you’re on a Growth plan:
Approval notifications are sent by email, but comments don’t trigger email notifications. You may need to let your teammate know when changes are ready for review.

Notification Center

Scale plan users have access to an in-app Notification Center for real-time updates on approval requests, approved content, and post comments.

To access it, select Notifications from the sidebar. Use the tabs to filter by read or unread notifications, and select Review Post(s) to go directly to the relevant post.

Team Collaboration

Internal Review

You can leave feedback comments directly on posts (excluding Instagram Stories). On Scale plans, comments also appear in the Notification Center. This can be combined with the approval workflow: a reviewer leaves feedback, the submitter makes changes, and then resubmits for approval.

To leave a comment, open the Post Builder and select the speech bubble icon in the top right to open the activity log. Alternatively, select ✕ Request changes from the list of content awaiting approval.

The activity log shows comments, submission timestamps, and approval timestamps in chronological order.

External Review

You can share posts for feedback with people outside Later who don't have a Later account.

1. From Later for desktop on your Calendar page, select Send posts
2. Select the posts you want to include (scheduled, published, or draft; Instagram Stories aren't supported)
3. Select Create Link
4. Select Copy Link to share the URL, or enter an email address and select Invite

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I find the Collaborate or Submit for Approval option?

If you don’t see collaboration or approval options in Later, check the following:

• Make sure you’re using Later on desktop. Team collaboration and content approvals aren’t available on mobile.
• Make sure your plan includes collaboration tools. Team collaboration and content approvals are available on current Growth plans and higher. Free and Starter users can’t access these features.
• Make sure the post type is supported. Instagram Stories aren’t supported for collaboration or content approvals.
• If you’re trying to request approval, open or create a post in the Post Builder and look for the Submit for Approval checkbox in the lower right.
• If you’re trying to approve content, go to List view above the Calendar. If there’s content awaiting approval, you’ll see a blue banner at the top of List view.
• If you’re trying to comment on a post, open the Post Builder and select the speech bubble icon in the top right to open the activity log.
• If you still don’t see the option you need, your role or Access Group permissions may need to be updated by the Account Owner. See Create & Manage Access Groups to learn more. 

If a post isn't approved, will it still be published?

Yes. Approval status doesn't block publishing. Scheduled posts go live at their scheduled time regardless of whether they've been approved.

To prevent a post from publishing before it's approved, save it as a draft and only schedule it once it's been approved. Alternatively, disable the Publish Without Approval permission for the relevant user so they can only submit drafts, not schedule posts directly.

Will I be notified when content needs my approval or when my content is approved?

Yes. Unless they've unsubscribed, users are notified by email when approval is requested and when their content is approved. On Scale plans, these notifications also appear in the Notification Center.

Will I be notified when someone leaves a comment?

There are no email notifications for feedback comments. On Scale plans, comments appear in the Notification Center. On Growth plans, you'll need to check the post directly or let teammates know to log in and review.

How do I resubmit a post after changes are requested?

Open the post, review the reviewer’s feedback, make the requested edits, and submit the post for approval again. If the post is a draft, save it as a draft after submitting for approval. If the post is scheduled, keep in mind that it will still publish at its scheduled time unless you move it back to draft or change the scheduled time.

Reviewers will receive a new approval request notification once the post is submitted again.

Can I unsubscribe from approval notification emails?

Yes. From Later for desktop, select Settings > Devices and Notifications. Under Email, disable the toggle next to approval notifications. You can re-enable it at any time.

Limitations and Plan Availability

Team collaboration and content approvals are available on current Growth plans and higher. The Notification Center, and in-app notifications for approval activity and comments, require Scale.

A few additional limits:

• Collaboration features are only available on Later for desktop, not mobile
• Instagram Stories can't be submitted for approval or reviewed through these tools
• Shareable external review links expire after 7 days and aren't password-protected
• External reviewer comments appear in the Notification Center on Scale plans only
• Free and Starter users can't access any collaboration or approval features

To compare what's included on each plan, see Choose a Later Social Plan. To upgrade, see Change Your Later Plan.