When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
Instagram has capitalized on the photo dump trend by doubling the number of photos per post to 20.
As?TechCrunch explained, the social media service started with a single photo per post but expanded to 10 in 2017. Now, you’re more likely to have enough image slots to cover a concert or vacation without resorting to multiple posts.
The Instagram change might be meant to help compete against TikTok, which allows as many as 35 photos per post. The feature has been in testing since at least March.
This comes just after Instagram said it was making views the main metric for interest regardless of format, including photos, videos, livestreams, and Stories. That gives social network stars a way to gauge their audiences regardless of what they post. They may be more likely to share photo carousels knowing these batches count just as much as anything else.
Instagram isn’t in any danger of significant decline when it has over 2 billion monthly active users as of early 2024. As with Stories, Reels, and other additions, though, the higher 20-photo cap appears to be a preemptive strike that could keep users from leaving for TikTok or other platforms.
It’s also a relatively pain-free addition. If people don’t make use of the expanded photos limit, Instagram loses very little. It would mainly affect long-time fans concerned that the service is drifting further from its narrowly-focused roots.
