On Aug. 8, Instagram began a global rollout of a new feature that has been highly anticipated by many for a while. If you’ve ever been frustrated by only being able to choose 10 pieces of content (photos or videos) for an Instagram carousel, you’re in luck! Now, IG is allowing users to post up to 20 photos and videos in one carousel.
The carousel feature, which was originally rolled out in 2017, has long been a way for IG users to share a bunch of content at once — in what’s lovingly referred to as “dumps.” But many dump-posters often stressed about narrowing their choices down to just 10 photos and videos. Now, their options are doubled.
According to Social Media Today, Instagram has been experimenting with larger carousel allowances since March 2024, when the social media platform first began allowing a select few users to post up to 15 slides at once. On Threads, some users claimed they could even post up to 20 during this experimental phase, while other users could still only post 10 slides in July. In March 2024, IG confirmed to Social Media Today that the company was testing the app’s capacity to add more than 10 photos to a carousels and was collecting feedback from users.
Apparently, that feedback must have been positive, because now, Instagram has officially started to roll out the feature on a global scale. The update will bring Instagram more in line with TikTok, which has its own increasingly popular carousel feature, allowing users to post up to 35 photos at once.
Why don’t I have Instagram’s increased carousel Feature?
As of Aug. 8, the update is still in the midst of rolling out. So don’t fret — if you don’t have it yet, you should have it soon. You could try updating your Instagram app; getting the latest version of the app may enable you to unlock this new feature — but if not, you’ll just have to wait until the update is done rolling out. It’ll happen soon!
What do people think of the update?
People have lots of mixed opinions about the new feature: Some think it’s fun, some think it’s excessive, and others are just anxiously awaiting their turn to post more than 10 photos in a dump. “Instagram still only lets me post 10 photos per carousel and I think I deserve more,” wrote one user on X.
Megan Radakovich, 20, has been following the update closely ever since March, when she first noticed friends from her hometown posting photo dumps that took longer than usual to scroll all the way through.Â
“I remember the first time I noticed a post with more than 10 photos I just felt like I kept swiping and swiping and never got to the end of the post, which totally confused me,” she tells Her Campus. “Plus, the fact that nobody was talking about it made me feel like I was crazy or like I’d discovered some kind of bonus feature.”
In Radakovich’s opinion, the 20-post carousels are a bit much, and not just because she finds them somewhat disorienting.Â
“Personally I prefer the earlier limit of 10 photos per post; I think the restricted number helped me narrow down what I wanted to share with my followers,” she says. “I don’t have the feature yet … I’m still kind of shocked every time I see a post with more than 10 photos.”
As the rollout continues, users’ sentiments about the update are still emerging. Only time will tell what the final verdict is once everyone has the update.