01
How a grid post works
Your profile shows posts three to a row, newest first. If you split one image into tiles and post them in the right order, the profile shows the whole picture. Because the newest post sits top left, you post the bottom-right tile first and the top-left one last. The files are numbered in exactly that order.
Post them close together: anything you post afterwards shifts every tile by one and breaks the picture, unless you post three at a time.
02
3:4 or 4:5 posts?
Since early 2025 Instagram's profile grid shows tall 3:4 tiles instead of squares. A 3:4 post (1080 × 1440) fills a tile exactly, but Meta's publishing API, which every scheduling tool uses, only accepts 4:5 to 1.91:1, so it has to be posted from the app.
A 4:5 post (1080 × 1350) works everywhere and fills the feed, but the grid crops a thin strip off both sides. The grid maker accounts for that: each 4:5 tile carries the strip the grid will hide, taken from its neighbour, so the visible parts still line up seamlessly.
03
Designing for the grid
Keep faces and text away from the cut lines between tiles, each post is also seen alone in the feed, so it should make some sense on its own. A wide panorama or a designed banner works better than a portrait photo, and the preview shows exactly where the cuts fall.
Sources and methodology
Numbers checked on October 17, 2026.
Tile sizes: 1080 × 1440 (3:4) and 1080 × 1350 (4:5). The 4:5 limit for API publishing is from Meta's IG User Media reference; the 3:4 profile grid is from secondary sources reporting Instagram's January 2025 change. The image is cut in your browser and never uploaded.
- IG User Media — image specifications (4:5 to 1.91:1, max 1440 px, JPEG) — Meta for Developers, October 17, 2026
