Formats
Five ways to publish, each with a different shape and a different audience behaviour.
- Post
- Text with optional photos, video, a poll or a GIF. The default unit.
- Thread
- A connected run of posts, written in one sitting or continued later.
- Short
- Vertical video, up to three minutes on every tier, watched full screen.
- Story
- A photo or clip that expires after 24 hours, unless you keep it as a highlight.
- Live
- A real-time broadcast with chat, reactions and Super Chats. Requires a paid plan.
Which to use
A post is for a single idea. A thread is for an argument that needs more than one. A Short is for something that reads better as motion than as text. A Story is for the moment rather than the record, because it is gone tomorrow. Live is for something worth being present for.
Where each one goes
Posts and threads reach the For You and Following feeds and your profile. Shorts reach the Shorts feed, and are mixed into the main feed according to your readers' own settings. Stories appear on the rail at the top of Home for the people allowed to see them. Live appears in the Live rail while it is running.