Instagram is rolling out a feature that lets users add up to 20 photos and videos to their feed carousel as the platform embraces the “photo dump” trend. In 2017, Instagram added the ability to post up to 10 photos and videos in a single swipeable carousel post, allowing you to post twice the amount of content.
When Instagram first became popular, the app was focused on getting that one perfect photo to share with your followers. As the years went on, the idea of a “photo dump” gained popularity, where users would post a collection of photos and videos in a carousel format instead of stressing over selecting a single image.
By doubling the number of photos and videos you can share in a carousel, Instagram is introducing photo mass posting just in time for the end of summer. The update harkens back to the days when people would upload albums of their summer vacation photos at the height of the Facebook platform's popularity.
It's worth noting that this change brings Instagram closer to TikTok's carousel feature, allowing users to include up to 35 photos in a single post.
While some users may be excited about the update, others may find it overkill as Instagram moves further away from the simple photo-sharing app it was a decade ago. Not everyone will be interested in swiping through 10 or more slides of user posts, especially when the app is already packed with many other content formats, including Reels, Stories, and Notes.
The expanded limits come as no surprise, as Instagram was spotted testing it back in March.
Thursday's announcement came a day after Instagram revealed that it would make “views” the primary metric across all formats, including Reels, Live, Photos, Carousels and Stories. The change will allow creators to track the same metric across all of their content.