Instagram has evolved over the years, adapting to its users' needs and adopting some of its competitors' features to maintain its market position. This allows us to upload a wide variety of content, such as images, stories, and videos. However, Instagram has always been characterized by its limitations . Just as there are restrictions on image uploads regarding aspect ratio and resolution, the same applies to video, as the platform is designed for short videos only. Fortunately, that will change after you finish reading this article, where we'll explain how you can upload longer videos to your Instagram account , whether to Stories or your regular posts.
How to upload long videos to Instagram stories
Let's start with the most typical place where, depending on each user, you may publish videos daily: Stories.
1. From the Instagram app
The truth is, this is the easiest limit to circumvent, provided the maximum duration exceeds 15 seconds to 1 minute . We can do this in two different ways. Through Instagram, it will be as simple as:
- Open the Stories publishing panel as you normally would.
- Whether hold down the record button without releasing it at any time as if you use the tool "Free hands" that you will find in the left panel, you can record 4 stories in series that, added together, will reach the minute of video.
- Once recorded, you can edit them separately and apply the same effect so that together they look like a single longer video.
- If your app is updated to the latest version, you'll be lucky that these stories won't be cut off. As long as the video does not exceed 60 seconds in length, it will be displayed in a single clip with no cuts.
Surely you have seen linked stories that last more than a minute. Natively, Instagram is not going to let us do it. But we can skip the limit, as we will tell you a little later.
2. From the camera app
However, we can do the same thing through our phone's own camera app :
- Open this app and go to the video recording section. Now you just have to capture what you want to say and then post it on Instagram stories. However, you must be aware that this clip is no longer than 1 minute, since, everything that is left out of this will not be published in your stories.
- With the video already recorded and saved in your gallery, go to the publication section of your stories.
- Once here, slide your finger up on your screen to display the content of your gallery. Select that video you just recorded.
- completely automatically, Instagram will upload your video and keep it in one piece if you meet the appropriate requirements.
However, if you intend to post a video longer than 1 minute in your stories , things get a little more complicated. But don't worry, it's not impossible. It does require using an app and a bit of practice, though.
How to upload long videos to Instagram feed
The case of videos in feed posts is practically identical to that of Instagram stories, since what we will need is to divide the video before publishing it into parts of a maximum time of 1 minute .
To do this, we can do it through the same applications discussed in the previous section. When cutting the video, in addition to the 15-second divisions, they give us the possibility of choosing other times, such as 60 seconds.
With the video already divided into units of 1 minute maximum, we go to Instagram and follow these steps:
- Access the profile publication menu. This is to the left of the posts section.
- Click the icon of the two stacked squares that you can see over the content of your gallery. This gives us the possibility of publishing more than one element as a carousel or gallery.
- Select all the 1-minute cuts in your video and follow the normal publishing process.
This way you can publish a video of up to 10 minutes , reaching the limit of 10 carousel posts allowed by this social network. However, if you want to create such a long post, it might be more convenient to do so through IGTV.
How to split clips to get over Instagram limit
This time, the process requires us to divide the video into 15-60 second clips before uploading them to this social network. And this will be possible thanks to third-party applications designed specifically for this purpose.
These apps work the same way in all cases: you upload the video you want to split, the app processes it, and after a few seconds, lets you save all the 15-second clips produced after the split. Most apps that offer this service are paid (though they aren't too expensive), and most free ones will add a small watermark that you'll have to pay to remove. The most interesting apps , for both Android and iOS, that allow you to do this are the following:
Crop Videos for Instagram on iPhone
If you use an Apple phone to upload your videos to Instagram, you can make use of the following applications that we leave below. We have made a selection in which you will find paid and also free apps with ads. Depending on the use you are going to give, it will be worth it to get one or the other.
Continual
If you're an iPhone user, this app is undoubtedly the best out there for cutting clips and uploading them to your Instagram profile. Its performance is great and the interface is also very easy to use. The only drawback is that it is paid and is worth 7,99 euros. The payment is unique, so it can compensate you if you monetize your social networks. The good thing is that it's well supported and ad-free, so it should be with you for a long time without any issues.
StorySplitter
If you're looking for a less expensive iPhone alternative, StorySplitter does a similar job to Continual, but for free and with ads. Of course, to publish videos in landscape format, you will have to get its premium version, which is worth 0,99 euros. Our recommendation is that you try this app, and if you see that you need more, skip to Continual, because it may not be worth spending the money if you are only going to publish a few long videos a month on your Instagram profile.
CutStory
This other alternative is very similar to StorySplitter, only that it allows you to create videos for other social networks as well. Its operation is very basic and it can be useful to you, although as usual, the price you will have to pay will be to be targeted by its ads.
Cut videos for Instagram on Android
story cutter
Without a doubt, one of the best alternatives out there if you don't have an iPhone. This application allows you to cut videos to the length you prefer, so it can also be used to prepare your videos for other social networks like Twitter, which also has its own limit. Its interface is very simple and it is a highly valued app in general terms.
video splitter
If Story Cutter doesn't convince you, Video Splitter is another alternative for Android that will also let you cut videos for all kinds of social networks that you use on a daily basis.
Once the division is done, we just have to go to the stories section, swipe up to access the gallery content and select these clips to publish them in order as stories.
Cut videos for Instagram on computers
Having such simple applications at hand on mobile phones, it may not be worth it for you to do this process on a computer. However, if you need to edit the videos before uploading them, or you have to cut a large volume, it may be worth it. These are the best programs you can use:
filmora video editor
It is available for Windows and macOS. Its interface is simple and the basic version does not require us to go through the box. If what you are looking for is just cutting clips, this editor is very intuitive and will give you exactly what you need without complicating your life.
iMovie
It is a simple video editor that you can install on any Mac computer and it can be used to cut clips. It is totally free and definitely much easier to use than other more advanced tools.
Final Cut Pro
It is the best tool that you can use on macOS if you need to produce professional video for Instagram. Of course, it is paid. The positive part is that it is only necessary to make one payment. Once you purchase it, you will have it associated with your Apple ID for life. If you're wondering about the price, it's worth about 299 euros and it's exclusive for Mac computers (both with Intel and Apple Silicon chips). If you have a Mac and you are going to dedicate yourself to creating video for social networks for a long time, it is worth the investment.
Adobe Premiere
Available for Windows and Mac, this Adobe app is one of the most interesting. To use it, you have to make a monthly payment. Learning to use it is difficult, but in the long run, it will have been a good investment of time. This application is also one of the most used at a professional level, and rivals software such as Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, among many others.
DaVinci Resolve
This incredibly powerful editing program is a tool designed for professionals . However, it can also be used to cut clips if desired. Believe it or not, the application is completely free . Its only drawback is that it requires a somewhat steep learning curve. Nevertheless, if you're going to work with many video clips, this tool is ideal, since you can not only cut videos but also perform color corrections, edits, and anything else you can imagine. It's available for both Windows and Mac.