The short answer
You need an Instagram professional account (Business or Creator) and a tool authorised through Instagram's official API. That is it — no password sharing, no browser extension, no risk to your account. What you cannot get through the API is a longer list than most tools admit.
Step by step
1A professional account
Business or Creator. Free to switch, reversible, and invisible to your followers. Personal accounts cannot use the publishing API at all.
2An official API integration
You authorise through Instagram and see the permissions listed before you accept. The tool never receives your password, and you can revoke access instantly from Instagram → Settings → Website permissions.
3Content in a supported format
Vertical 9:16 MP4 for Reels and Stories, JPEG or PNG for images. Tools apply their own size ceilings on top of Instagram's — snazzy allows up to 300 MB of video and 50 MB per image.
What catches people out
- Instagram limits API publishing to roughly 25–50 posts per rolling 24 hours depending on the account.
- Not available through the API: interactive Story stickers, product tags, and editing a post after publishing beyond its caption.
- Access tokens expire and have to be refreshed. A good tool refreshes them silently and tells you clearly when an account genuinely needs reconnecting — that prompt is normal, not a bug.
- Any tool that asks for your Instagram password is not using the official API. That is the single clearest warning sign.
Related guides
Last checked 2026-09-01. Instagram changes its API without notice — if something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Schedule once. We post it.
Reels, Stories, carousels and comment-to-DM on Instagram. Free forever, no card.
Start free