Crop each image to the aspect ratio the platform expects before uploading. Platforms change pixel recommendations often and resize uploads anyway.
Common social media aspect ratios
- 1:1 (square): profile pictures and the safest feed-post shape. Leave room above heads.
- 4:5 (portrait): the tallest regular feed post. Fills more of a phone screen than a landscape post.
- 9:16 (full vertical): stories, reels, shorts and other full-screen phone formats.
- 16:9 (landscape): video thumbnails, link-preview cards and header images.
- ~3:1 (wide banner): cover photos and channel banners. The ratio varies by platform, and desktop and mobile crop differently, so center anything important.
Crop before you upload
A 4:3 photo uploaded where a square is expected gets center-cropped, often trimming heads or products. Crop it yourself. Check that the subject is still recognizable at postage-stamp size.
Safe areas for text
Full-screen vertical formats overlay the username and music info at the top and the caption, buttons and reply box at the bottom. On 9:16, the top and bottom 15% can be covered. Keep text and logos in the middle 60–70%. Banners have the same issue horizontally, with profile pictures and buttons placed differently on each device.
Resolution and compression
- Upload 1,080–2,048 px on the long edge. Smaller images may be upscaled; larger ones are usually reduced.
- Export at JPG quality 85+ or PNG so the platform's compression is the only lossy step.
- Sharpen fine detail slightly, since platform downscaling softens it.
Making several sizes from one photo
Crop each version from the highest-resolution original. The crop tool has 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 and 3:2 presets plus custom dimensions. Use circle crop for profile images, the collage maker for several photos in one frame, and resize & compress for file-size limits.