Why Won’t Instagram Let Me Post a Picture?

Are you trying to post a picture but Instagram won’t let you?

Maybe your post violates Instagram’s guidelines and it’s being taken down.

Or maybe it’s due to a glitch in the Instagram app.

Either way, there are solutions to these issues.

In this article, you’ll learn why you can’t post a picture on Instagram.

Additionally, you’ll learn 3 ways you can use to fix the error.

Why won’t Instagram let me post a picture?

Instagram won’t let you post a picture either because you either posted something that violates Instagram’s guidelines, due to a glitch, or you posted too many pictures at one go.

There are three reasons why Instagram won’t let you post a picture.

You’ve either posted something that violates Instagram’s guidelines, it’s due to a glitch, or you posted too many pictures at one go.

Most social media platforms have their own way of dealing with spam and bots.

Instagram deals with them by imposing different types of blocks such as the infamous shadowban, action block, and so on.

This is to mitigate inauthentic or spammy activity on the platform.

However, these blocks might be glitched at times, and people may be falsely blocked.

That being said, here are 3 reasons why Instagram won’t let you post a picture.

1. You posted something that violates Instagram’s guidelines

The first reason why Instagram won’t let you post a picture is that your post violates Instagram’s community guidelines.

Instagram’s AI is able to detect posts that violate their guidelines.

If you post something that violates Instagram’s community guidelines, your post may not be uploaded.

For instance, if you post something that contains violence, your picture/video will not be posted.

By posting inappropriate content, your account has a risk of getting banned.

Even if you’re not banned, your account will be shadowbanned.

If you’re shadowbanned, your posts will not be discoverable by people that are not following you.

More specifically, your posts will not show up on the explore page or hashtag feeds.

To prevent this from happening, don’t post anything that violates Instagram’s community guidelines.

If you are unable to post a picture, try posting another picture instead.

2. It’s due to a glitch

Next, if you can’t post a picture on Instagram, it might be because of a glitch.

There are two types of glitches you may experience.

The first type of glitch is due to the picture itself, and the second type of glitch is due to Instagram’s AI.

When there’s a glitch in the picture, you won’t be able to post it on Instagram.

This usually happens if the image size is too big, or the picture isn’t native.

When the image size is too big, you can’t upload it on Instagram.

On the other hand, if the picture was taken somewhere else other than your phone, it might not be able to post.

If you happen to post something and you receive this error message, “Your post goes against community guidelines”, then it might be a glitch as well.

Did you receive the “Your post goes against community guidelines” error when you tried posting a picture? If you did, it might be due to a glitch.

To fix this error, you need to wait it out. The error message typically lasts for a few hours, up to a maximum of 24 hours.

If you posted something that didn’t violate Instagram’s community guidelines whatsoever, then the AI might have falsely detected your post for violation.

In that case, the only way to fix this is to wait it out.

Typically, you’ll be able to post again in a few hours, up to a maximum of 24 hours.

3. You posted too many pictures

Lastly, you might have posted too many pictures on Instagram at one go.

If you post too many pictures, one after the other, Instagram will temporarily block you from posting.

If you post consecutive photos on Instagram, you may be action blocked.

This is because you’re abusing the posting feature. Typically, automation is used to post a massive number of posts on Instagram.

So if you happen to post consecutive photos, Instagram will think that you are a bot and impose an action block on you.

If you’re action blocked, you’ll receive a message that says, “Action Blocked” or “You’re temporarily blocked”.

When you get the action block, there’s nothing much you can do to fix it.The only way to fix it is to wait it out.

Fortunately, the action block is temporary and will be lifted after some time.

The action block will be lifted after a few hours, 24 hours, or more depending on the “circumstances”.

In order to prevent this from happening, make sure to post one picture/video at a time.

If you’re hoping to post multiple pictures, you can make use of the carousel feature.

How to fix picture can’t be posted

If Instagram won’t let you post a picture, you can either fix it by taking a screenshot of the picture, updating Instagram, or clearing the app’s cache.

If you can’t post a picture on Instagram, there are three methods to fix it.

You can either try taking a screenshot of the picture and post it again, update Instagram, or clear the app’s cache if you’re using an Android device.

Most of the time, you’re unable to post a picture due to a glitch.

Fortunately, it can be easily solved with one of the methods below.

1. Take a screenshot of the picture

The first method is to take a screenshot of the picture that you’re hoping to post on Instagram.

Alternatively, you can save the picture on your photo gallery.

Then, you can re-post the screenshot on Instagram.

Re-posting the picture as a screenshot on Instagram can help to get rid of the posting issue.

Now, you may be wondering, how does taking a screenshot manage to fix the posting issue?

To begin with, you need to understand the term, “native posts”.

“Native posts” means that you took the picture/video on your phone.

If the picture/video is taken somewhere else other than your phone, then it isn’t native.

At times, Instagram only allows posts that are “native” to be uploaded on Instagram.

The most common issue that arises from this is the inability to post something to your story.

This may prevent you from posting something on your feed as well.

To fix this, you can try taking a screenshot/recording of the picture/video on your phone and posting it on Instagram.

This should be able to fix the posting issue. If this method doesn’t work, you can try using the next method.

2. Update Instagram

Next, you can try updating the Instagram app.

If you haven’t updated Instagram to the latest version, you might face some issues in the app.

This is because the previous Instagram update might contain some bugs. At times, you’ll need to update the app to fix those bugs.

You should update Instagram especially if the description contains bug fixes or performance improvements.

At times, the previous update might have contained some bugs. Consequently, a new update will be released to fix those bugs.

If the update description contains bug fixes or performance improvements, be sure to update it as it can help solve some issues in the app.

Here’s how you can update Instagram using an iPhone:

1. Go to the App Store.
2. Tap on the profile icon at the top-right of the screen.
3. Scroll down and find the Instagram app.
4. Tap on “update” to update the app.

Here’s how you can update Instagram using an Android device:

1. Open the Google Play Store.
2. Navigate to the options toolbar and select “Apps and Games”.
3. Find the Instagram app.
4. Tap on “update” to update the app.

After you updated Instagram, you can try opening it and post the picture again.

If you’re still unable to post a picture, you can either try waiting it out or try using the next method.

3. Clear the cache

The final step you can try is to clear Instagram’s cache.

Clearing Instagram’s cache will help to free up Instagram’s storage.

However, it’s documents and data will not be removed. It does that by deleting loaded images, videos, and stories.

This means that the next time you log in to Instagram, images, videos, stories, etc., will load slower.

Nonetheless, clearing Instagram’s cache can help solve issues in the app.

To clear Instagram’s cache on Android, select “Clear Cache”.

For an iPhone, you need to select “Offload App” to clear Instagram’s cache.

If you’re using an Android device, you can clear Instagram’s cache by tapping on “Clear Cache”.

However, if you’re using an iPhone, it’s a little bit different.

Clearing an app’s cache on an iPhone isn’t called, “Clear Cache”. Instead, the feature is called “Offload App”.

So, if you want to clear Instagram’s cache on an iPhone, you’ll have to tap on “Offload App”.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can clear Instagram’s cache on an iPhone:

1. Go to your phone’s settings.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on “iPhone Storage”.
4. Find and tap on Instagram.
5. Select “Offload App” to clear Instagram’s cache.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can clear Instagram’s cache on an Android device:

1. Go to your phone’s settings.
2. Tap on “Storage”.
3. Tap on “Other apps”.
4. Find and tap on Instagram.
5. Select “Clear cache” to clear Instagram’s cache.

After you cleared Instagram’s cache, open the Instagram app. Try posting the picture again, and it should be able to work this time.

If you’re still not able to post on Instagram, your best bet is to wait it out.

Typically, you should be able to post on Instagram again after some time (up to 24 hours).

FAQ

Why is Instagram not letting me post on my story?

If Instagram is not letting you post on your story, it’s most likely because of a glitch.

The most common reason why you can’t upload a video on your Instagram story is that it was taken somewhere else.

If you can’t upload a video on your Instagram story, then it might be because you’ve taken it somewhere else other than your device.

In other words, Instagram may not be able to detect the video if it’s taken or imported from elsewhere (e.g. imported from your desktop).

To fix this, you can try re-saving the video on your phone using Snapchat, or using a video editor.

This will fix the error almost 100% of the time.

Why is Instagram blocking me from posting?

Instagram is blocking you from posting because you’ve either posted something that violates Instagram’s guidelines, it’s due to a glitch, or you’ve posted too many consecutive posts.

Firstly, if you’ve posted something inappropriate, Instagram’s AI may take your post down.

If you didn’t post something that violates Instagram’s guidelines, then your post might be taken down due to a glitch.

The only way to fix this is to wait it out, and you should be able to start posting again after a while.

The final reason why Instagram is blocking you from posting is that you’ve posted too many consecutive posts.

By posting too many posts at one go, Instagram might think that you are a bot and temporarily block you from posting.

Conclusion

In this article, you’ve learned why won’t Instagram let you post a picture, and 3 ways to fix it.

These 3 ways are proven to fix the posting issue, as many Instagram users have managed to post a picture after using one of them.

However, if you still can’t post a picture on Instagram after trying these methods, the last solution is to wait it out.

Typically, you’ll be able to post again after waiting for some time.

Further Reading

> ? 7 Steps to Grow a Meme Page on Instagram

> 3 Ways to Know if Someone Muted You on Instagram

> How to Use The Green Screen Effect on TikTok (Tutorial)