Instagram collab posts: how to invite collaborators

A collab post is one post with more than one author. The account that creates it invites others as collaborators. Once an invite is accepted, the post shows on every collaborator's profile, is shared with all their followers, and collects one shared set of likes and comments that every collaborator can see.

Meta's 2023 announcement describes collabs on feed posts, carousels and reels. Stories are the exception: you can mention accounts in a story, but you can't add collaborators.

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026; Meta Newsroom: New Ways to Create With Music and Collaborate With Friends on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

Add collaborators while you create the post:

1. Create your post or reel as usual, up to the final screen.
2. Before you publish, tap Tag people.
3. Tap Invite collaborator.
4. Search for the account and tap it.
5. Tap Done, then share the post. It appears on their profile once they accept.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

Invites arrive as a message:

1. Tap Messages.
2. Open the chat where you received the invite.
3. Tap the collaboration invite, then tap Review.
4. Tap Accept to join the post, or Decline to turn it down.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

If you created the post: open it, tap Options in the top right, tap Edit, tap Tag people, tap Remove next to the collaborator's name and tap Done. Before publishing, the same Remove button sits under Tag people.

If you're the collaborator and want off someone else's post: open it, tap Options and tap Stop sharing. Either side can end a collab at any time, and the post stays on the original creator's profile.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

From Instagram's help centre:

• You can add up to 5 collaborators to a post in the app. If you schedule through a third-party tool, check its limit, because tools publish through Instagram's API rather than the app
• The account that created the post is the primary creator. Only they can delete it, and deleting removes it from every collaborator's profile
• If either side blocks the other, the collab ends, but the post stays on the original creator's profile
• If the creator deactivates their account, the post disappears from everyone's profile until they reactivate
• Public accounts can invite public or private accounts. Private accounts can only invite accounts that follow them, and if a public account accepts, the post is shared publicly through that account
• If the original creator later makes their account private, only their followers can see the post
• Accounts that have broken Instagram's guidelines may lose access to collabs

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

The short version: a tag points to someone; a collab puts the post in front of both audiences.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

Collabs work when both accounts' followers would care about the same post. Some ideas: a joint offer with a neighbouring shop, an event you're running with another business, a supplier showing how you use their product, or a customer story both of you want to share.

A short checklist we use, based on how Instagram's collab rules work:

1. Agree who publishes. That account owns the post, controls edits and is the only one that can delete it.
2. Share the draft caption and visuals with your partner first, so the post sounds right to both audiences.
3. Confirm the exact username to invite. Searching for a lookalike account is an easy mistake.
4. If you're a private account, check your partner follows you, or the invite won't be possible.
5. Agree the posting time, and ask your partner to accept the invite promptly from their messages, because the post only reaches their followers once they accept.
6. After it goes live, both sides reply to comments. You both see every like and comment on the post.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts on Instagram, checked 14 October 2026

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Zolyp plans the week across your content themes, writes the captions and designs the visuals against your Brand Brain (your tone, colours and rules, saved once), then schedules and publishes to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. Nothing goes out until you approve it. Plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, with a 3-day free trial and no card required.