Instagram lets you follow accounts, browse and respond to photos and videos, and share your own updates. Start by choosing whom to follow, learn the difference between posts, Stories, and Reels, and set your account’s audience before sharing. The app’s features and controls can vary by region and change over time.
How Instagram works
Your account is your identity on Instagram. You can follow other accounts, and content from accounts you follow appears in your feed. You can respond to posts by liking or commenting, and use Instagram’s messaging features to communicate with other people.
Instagram is also a discovery platform: you may encounter content from accounts you do not follow. What appears can depend on the feature and the app’s current design, so your feed is not necessarily limited to posts from followed accounts.
What are posts, Stories, and Reels?
Feed posts
A feed post is a photo or video shared to your profile and shown to people who can view your account’s content. People who can see a post may be able to like or comment on it, subject to your settings and Instagram’s current controls.
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Stories
A Story is a photo or video update separate from a standard feed post. The Australian eSafety Commissioner describes Stories as available for 24 hours. Consider who can view your account’s content before adding something to a Story.
Reels
Reels are short-form videos. Meta’s 2020 Reels announcement, updated in 2023, described public Reels as eligible to appear in Explore and said private-account Reels followed the account’s privacy settings. That is historical product context, not a guarantee that any particular Reel will be recommended or that the current interface works exactly as described in the announcement.
Other features
Instagram’s current Google Play and Apple App Store descriptions also mention features such as Notes and group chats. Availability and presentation can differ by region or change as the app is updated.
How do I follow accounts and interact with content?
- Find accounts to follow. Use Instagram’s discovery tools or look up an account you already know. Check that you have the right account before following.
- Follow accounts you want to see. Content from followed accounts can appear in your feed. If an account is private, the account holder must approve your follow request before you become an approved follower.
- Respond to content. Use the available like and comment controls on posts. Comments are visible to people who can see the post, so treat them as public within that audience.
- Message when appropriate. Instagram lists messaging and group-chat features, though the exact options and controls may vary in the app.
How do I share a photo, video, or Reel?
Choose the format that fits what you want to share: a feed post for a photo or video on your profile, a Story for a temporary update, or a Reel for a short-form video. The app’s creation flow and buttons may change, so use the current in-app prompts rather than relying on an outdated menu path.
- Review the image or video and its caption before publishing.
- Check the audience of your account and any available sharing options before posting.
- Think through whether identifying details, location clues, or other personal information should be visible to that audience.
Who can see my Instagram posts?
The main audience choice is whether your account is public or private. According to the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s Instagram guide, public posts can be viewed by everyone, while a private account requires approval of followers, who can then see what the account shares.
| Account setting | Who can follow you? | Who can view your posts? | Discovery beyond approved followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public | Everyone can follow the account. | Everyone can view posts. | Public content may be discoverable beyond followers; visibility in a particular recommendation surface is not guaranteed. |
| Private | You approve followers. | Approved followers can see what you share. | Do not assume private posts are broadly discoverable; Meta’s historical Reels announcement said private-account Reels followed the account’s privacy settings. |
Private is an audience setting, not anonymity. Use it to limit who follows and views your account, and check the audience before each share rather than assuming every format or sharing option has identical visibility.
How can I manage comments and tags?
Instagram provides controls for managing comments and tags. The eSafety Commissioner notes options including keyword blocking for comments and tag management. Because labels and menu locations can change, look in the app’s current settings for comment moderation, blocked words, and tag controls instead of relying on a fixed click path.
- Use comment controls to limit or moderate replies on your content.
- Consider keyword blocking if unwanted comments contain recurring terms.
- Review tag settings so you have a say in how other accounts associate you with content.
What should beginners know about privacy defaults?
In a 2021 announcement, Meta said: “During testing, eight out of ten young people accepted the private default settings during sign-up.” This was a company-described test result, not a current estimate for all young people or Instagram users. Regardless of defaults, review your account’s audience and controls yourself.
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Instagram is available as a mobile app through Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The sources cited here do not establish current sign-up screens, operating-system requirements, device compatibility, or minimum-age rules for every jurisdiction; check the live app-store listing and Instagram’s current guidance for details relevant to your device and location.
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