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Instagram Limitations: Everything You Need To Know

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Plixi Team

Jan 10, 2024 14 min read

10x Faster Instagram Growth. Automatically.

There are Instagram limitations for almost anything on the platform. This includes the characters for posts, the number of followers you can have, and who can leave a post comment. Understanding these limitations will help you get the most out of the special media platform. Also, it can help prevent confusion when you cannot take a particular action. 

Overall, Instagram’s limits are fair and provide enough functionality for the average user. For example, you’re unlikely to need to follow more than 7,500 accounts. These limits contribute to a good quality social media experience for everyone. 

Are you interested in growing your Instagram account to the next level? Then, read to the end of the article for insight into how Plixi can help get more followers than you’ve ever dreamed.

Instagram Limitations: Everything You Need To Know

What Are Instagram Limitations?

Instagram has limitations for most activities that you can do on the social media platform. This includes limits for the number of comments you can leave per hour or the direct messages you can send in a day. 

The limitations of Instagram are a way for them to control the people who want to spam the platform. It also helps them manage server capacity since a single user cannot take too many actions per day. 

It’s important to understand your Instagram limitations so you aren’t too disappointed when running out. However, in most cases, the limits are high enough that it won’t affect the average person.

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Instagram Follow Limit

Are you curious to find out what the Instagram follow limit is? The maximum number of accounts that you can follow is 7,500, which is a lot. You’re unlikely to reach that limit if you were to follow new accounts on a daily basis constantly. 

Furthermore, if you go anywhere near that number, your feed would be out of control. That’s because you’ll receive so much content per day that it will be difficult to keep up. You will need to unfollow accounts before you can follow new ones if you reach the cap. 

Also, there is a maximum per-hour limit of 200 new followers. This is hard to reach in practice unless you’re constantly following new accounts in that period. The limit is there to avoid spamming the follow button and overwhelming the Instagram servers. 

Finally, there’s no limit to the number of people who can follow your Instagram account. In fact, you can get millions of followers and grow a massive brand on the social media platform. However, you need to use the right strategies to grow your Instagram followers. Some of the top strategies include providing high-quality content, buying followers, and networking.

How To Get More Followers

Now that you know there’s no limit to the number of followers you can get on Instagram, let’s consider how to get more. An increase in the follower count leads to more viewers, higher engagement, better sponsorship deals, and more sales.

  • Post more content: The primary way to attract new followers is by posting content. That’s because viewers come to social media platforms to follow accounts that release the content they want. 
  • Buy followers: You can buy Instagram followers from reputable vendors. However, when buying followers, you need to ensure they are genuine and not from fake accounts. Furthermore, don’t buy too many followers at once since that will raise suspicion and possibly get you banned. 
  • Optimize Instagram bio: New potential followers will inspect your Instagram bio to ensure it matches their interests. Therefore, you need to optimize your bio to ensure that it attracts new followers. 
  • Run competitions: Create posts that run giveaways and competitions. This creates a buzz around the account and could send an influx of new followers. After all, social media users like following accounts that bring more value to the experience. 
  • Focus on a niche: You’re likely to get more followers by focusing on a specific niche instead of being broad. That’s because users like to focus on accounts they find interesting or match their hobbies.
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Instagram Character Limit

The Instagram character limit varies for each type of content. In this section, we’ll cover the different character limits on Instagram so you know what to expect.

  • Comments: You have a comment character limit of 2,200. This is usually more than enough to share your opinion on the matter. The character limits also ensure that some commenters don’t write so much text that the comment turns into an article. You can always write more than one comment if you wish to write a longer reply to the post. 
  • Username: The Instagram username has a limit of 30 characters, which means that you can’t use very long ones. When brands have a longer name, you may need to come up with creative ways of making them shorter. 
  • Instagram ads: You can take advantage of Instagram ads with a business account. However, the IG ads’ character limit is just 125. Therefore, you’ll need to get creative when coming up with winning advertisements. 
  • Captions: The Instagram caption limit is 2,200, which means you can add more content to your posts. Ideally, the captions will enhance the content and provide context. You can express your thoughts and share opinions using captions. It’s a great way to communicate with your followers and viewers on the post content. 
  • Instagram bio: The bio character limit on Instagram is just 150 characters. Therefore, you’ll need to make every character count when expressing what your account is about. Also, you can use emojis to share more with fewer characters and add more visuals to your bio. When you want to build upon your IG bio, you can pin a single Instagram Stories content. This could be in the form of a welcome message that informs new followers what to expect. 
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How To Limit Comments on Instagram

Do you want to know how to limit comments on Instagram? We’ll share the details for how you can turn off comments when creating a new post on Instagram. You may want to take this action when posting sensitive content. Here are the steps for limiting comments on Instagram:

  1. Go to the New Post screen.
  2. Choose “Advanced Settings”
  3. Toggle on the setting for “Turn off commenting.”
  4. Finish setting up the post. 

Note that this setting turns off comments for every viewer. This approach might be too heavy-handed if you want some people to comment while banning others. Therefore, you can restrict users from commenting on your posts. This is the right action to take when you feel that you’re getting harassed. 

Why Is My Instagram Music Limited?

Are you wondering why my Instagram music is limited? Instagram allows you to add music to your content, which includes Instagram Reels and Stories. However, in some instances, you may notice that you’re only getting a limited selection from the library. This can happen for the following reasons:

  • Copyright restrictions: In your country, the copyright restrictions for music might be different than for another. Therefore, your friends in various countries will access a different music library than you. 
  • Removed: Instagram may have removed some music tracks in recent days, which makes it look like there’s something missing. However, the Instagram library is constantly updated. 
  • Business account: When you register an Instagram business account, you get to access multiple benefits. However, there are a few drawbacks, too, which include a limited selection of music.  In fact, you will not have access to music from recording artists.
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How To Limit Time on Instagram

Are you wondering how to limit time on Instagram? Well, Instagram has a built-in feature that allows you to limit the amount of time you spend on the app. This is a good step to take when you’re struggling to stop using social media apps like Instagram. However, the feature is only available when using the mobile app. 

Here’s the step-by-step process for limiting your time spent on the Instagram app:

  1. Press your profile picture in the bottom right-hand corner. 
  2. Tap the three horizontal line icon in the top right-hand corner. 
  3. Choose “Your Activity” and then tap “Time Spent.”
  4. Press “Set daily time limit.”
  5. After selecting the amount of time, choose “Done.”

You can also view how much time you have spent on Instagram. However, the functionality is only available on Android or iPhones by using the Instagram app. Getting an idea of the time spent on Instagram will help you understand if it needs to be reduced.

Other Ways To Limit Use on Instagram

There are other strategies that you can use to limit the amount of time you spend on Instagram. These tips are particularly helpful for those people who use the Instagram app more often than they would like. 

  • Third-party time trackers: You can download and install third-party time trackers on your mobile device. Look on Google Play or the App Store for different options to help limit social media use. Some of these apps may give you warnings when the time is up, while others will turn off the app. It depends on your preference and what will help limit your IG use. 
  • Have a goal: When you log onto the Instagram app, have a goal for what you want to achieve. For example, you can limit your use to just sending a few Instagram direct messages. Alternatively, you can catch up on posts made by a specific account. 
  • Avoid mindless scrolling: Instagram Reels can be an addictive way of consuming Instagram. That’s because the short-form content usually leaves you wanting more. Therefore, you need to avoid mindless scrolling by limiting the time you spend on the app. You can avoid using Instagram Reels altogether when your purpose for visiting the app is something else. 

Instagram Reels Time Limit

The Instagram Reels time limit is 90 seconds. This is the maximum amount of time that you can have for your content, so you need to be creative. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of content that you can share in 90 seconds. 

Here are some of the top strategies to consider when creating Instagram Reels content:

  • Captions: Add captions to the content so you can share more in less time. This is a great way to enhance your content and make each second count. The captions are also a great idea since people without audio can watch and understand the video. Without captions, some users might simply skip the content altogether. 
  • Hashtags: You can add hashtags to your Instagram Reels to increase their searchability. That’s because one of the primary ways that users find content on Instagram is through hashtags. However, you need to mix up your strategy by spreading your hashtags across multiple reels. This ensures that you don’t spam too many hashtags on a single IG reel. 
  • Viral Topics: Choose topics for your Instagram Reels that have a chance of going viral. Think about the viral videos that you have seen on TikTok or other social media platforms. You can use these for inspiration to create content of your own. 
  • Make every second count: Since the 90-second rule limits you, you need to get your message across within the time limit. In fact, you need to grab the attention of viewers within the first few seconds to ensure they watch the rest of the content.

Instagram Story Time Limit

Instagram Stories is another type of short-form content on Instagram that is only shared with your followers. Also, it’s deleted within 24 hours of getting posted, which means that it’s best used for time-sensitive content. 

The Instagram story time limit is only 60 seconds, so it’s 30 seconds shorter than reels. However, story content is meant for short updates, and you can post several per day. Therefore, with story content, it makes sense to focus on one specific thing. When you want to share more, you can always upload additional Instagram Stories. 

Furthermore, you can get into the habit of taking videos that are under 60 seconds long. This ensures that there’s no need to manually edit content when you need to cut down the time.

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Instagram Age Limit

The Instagram age limit states that you must be at least 13 years of age to use the social media platform. Users under the age of 13 are not allowed to use Instagram or even register a new account. 

However, you’ll also need to consider the local laws of your country. For example, some countries may ban users from social media platforms until they are 16-18. Therefore, it’s always vital to understand the local laws in addition to Instagram’s terms and conditions. 

However, young kids always look for ways to get around the rules. This might be to get an older sibling to sign up for them, or an older friend. Therefore, parents need to monitor their kids’ internet use to see if they have signed up for IG prematurely.

Best Practices For an Instagram Caption Limit

The Instagram caption limit is just 2,2000 characters, so you’ll need to craft the content strategically. In the following section, we’ll provide a few tips you can consider when trying to make the most of the caption limit on Instagram:

  • No need to max out: There’s no reason to always reach the maximum caption limit in your posts. Sometimes, a shorter message might have the same effect. In fact, saying more with fewer words can improve the quality of a post. 
  • Write drafts: Consider writing a few drafts of a caption before you go with one. This gives you the freedom to see what it looks like on the page and make edits for optimization. 
  • Research competitors: Look at the captions your competitors in the niche write. Therefore, you can get inspiration from the top-performing posts. However, make sure not to copy your competitors since that’s in bad taste. Also, your audience will pick up on the fact that you’re copying other content creators and may unfollow you. 
  • Spark debate: Use the caption to encourage users to leave a comment. This increases engagement with your content, and that will positively affect the Instagram algorithm. You can also kick-start debates by being the first to comment under your post. 
  • Links: You can add links to other content in your captions to increase the viewership. This is a great way to get users to view more than a single piece of content at a time. However, you’ll need to ensure that the content you link to is relevant so users don’t view links as spam.
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Instagram Limitations — Are They a Problem?

To conclude, the limits on Instagram are not a problem or hindrance for the majority of users. That’s because they are high enough to where the average user is unlikely to hit them. However, the character limits for different content types will come into play. For example, you’ll need to craft the Instagram bio carefully to avoid going over the 125-character limit. 

Now that you understand Instagram’s limitations, you’re better equipped to use the platform. For example, you can stop following too many irrelevant accounts to avoid hitting the limit. Likewise, you can be prepared for the comment limit if you like to spend a lot of time in the comment section. 

Are you looking for strategies to grow your Instagram account? Then, take advantage of the services provided here at Plixi. We provide a combination of an in-house algorithm and Instagram influencers to target specific audiences. So what are you waiting for? Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.

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