How to add a video to Instagram Stories and how many seconds it will be posted for?

Almost every person in the world is familiar with the social network Instagram, which is gaining popularity every year and opens up new features and services to users. The service allows you to share photos and videos, with the ability to edit them using a wide range of tools, styles, and colorful filters. One of the bright features of Instagram is the publication of short stories, videos, and images, lasting no more than 15 seconds. In this article, we will tell you how to add a video to your story on Instagram through the mobile app on your smartphone or using a personal computer.

How to add a video to your story: technical parameters

Instagram is a popular social network for communication, photo and video sharing, as well as for commercial and advertising activities. One of the interesting features of the platform is stories – the ability to upload short videos or images that do not exceed 15 seconds in length. Such records are broadcast only for 24 hours from the moment of publication. You can customize the content to your liking using built-in tools, filters, and editing elements.

A colorfully designed story attracts the attention of subscribers, increases interest in the page, and for business accounts, contributes to the growth of promoting goods or services. There are two ways to upload videos to stories:

Instagram allows you to record a video or take a photo in real-time mode using the built-in camera of your mobile device. You can apply several shooting options.
Upload a ready-made file from the internal memory of your mobile phone or tablet.

If you want to publish a ready-made recording from your smartphone’s memory, you should take into account a number of technical characteristics that the service requires for correct operation and display of the video:

It is recommended to use the MP4 or MOV extension.
The maximum size of the video should not exceed 4 GB, and images 30 MB.
The maximum and minimum resolution is 1080 by 1920 and 600 by 1067 pixels, respectively.
It is recommended to maintain standard aspect ratios, a ratio of 9:16. If the video does not meet this requirement, the social network will automatically crop the image or video. Therefore, try to record videos and take pictures in a vertical position.
The maximum length of the video cannot exceed 15 seconds. If the content is much longer, the system will automatically divide it into several parts of equal duration. You can crop the video yourself using additional applications.

When publishing your creativity, try to take into account the described limitations, otherwise, there may be problems with uploading and displaying the material.

How to record and upload video from Android and IOS phone

The social network Instagram is available as a mobile application that is perfectly compatible with all modern operating systems based on Android and IOS from Apple. The application interface and main tools on smartphones with different software are similar. Let’s see how to add a video to your Instagram story:

Launch the mobile application on your smartphone.
Log in by entering your username and password for your profile.
On the main page with the news feed, find the icon for adding a new story, which is located on the top panel of the screen. Or swipe your finger to the right on the display.
After that, the publication menu will open, and the device’s camera will automatically start.
To record a video, simply choose the shooting mode from the list and start recording. If you exceed 15 seconds, the story will automatically be divided into several equal parts.
Use your imagination and decorate the recording. The built-in editor allows you to add text to the video, apply additional filters and styles, use graphic tools, tag another subscriber, or add a link to an external source (for a narrow circle of people).
After that, specify with whom you want to share the story. You can send it to a specific user in a private chat or publish it on your page in stories.
From this moment, the video will be broadcast on your page, and any visitor will be able to watch it.

To upload a ready-made file to your Instagram story from your phone’s gallery, you will need to:

Go to the story publication menu.
On the bottom panel, next to the recording indicator, there is a “Gallery” button, press it.
After that, the system will offer to choose a video or photo from the mobile phone’s memory. At the same time, you can select several files at once.
Carry out the editing procedure if necessary and send the publication to your story.

What is the length of the video that can be uploaded to Instagram? If you want to upload a long video, you can use the standard instructions described above. In this case, the publication will be divided into several fragments of 15 seconds each. Unfortunately, the service’s interface and tools do not allow you to trim the clip to the desired length. For such purposes, you need to use third-party applications, such as InShot, which allows you to make a video of the desired length and highlight important fragments.

How to add a video to Instagram Stories via computer

Unfortunately, it is not possible to publish photos and videos to your story or feed via your personal computer. To do this, you need to use additional applications, extensions, or emulators.

There is an easier way to post videos on Instagram:

1. Open the social network page in your browser and log in to your account.
2. The web version of the service will open. Right-click on the screen and select “Inspect” in the pop-up window.
3. The page source will appear on the right. On the top panel, select the mobile version of Instagram. The social network will be displayed as on a phone.
4. On the top panel of the main page, select the smartphone model and press F5 to save the settings. Do not close the source code window, otherwise the settings will be reset.
5. After refreshing the page, the mobile version of Instagram will appear. Click on the “Add Story” button and upload the necessary video file from your computer. If necessary, edit it.
6. Save the changes and you can close the source code window.

Let’s consider an example on the Bluestacks application:

1. Download and install the utility on your computer from PlayMarket. If the operating system is below Windows 8, you will need to use an emulator.
2. Launch the Instagram app and log in to your page.
3. The algorithm of actions is similar to that for mobile phones. Click on “Add New Story” and upload the video from the device’s memory.
4. Save the changes.

How to upload someone else’s video to your story

If you liked someone else’s post and want to upload it to your story, you can perform a repost procedure. Follow these instructions:

Log in to your social network account under your username.
Find another user’s video that you want to publish in your story.
Under the post, find the airplane button and click on it.
After that, the repost menu will open, where you can send the video to another user in a private chat or share it in your story. Choose the appropriate option.
The standard editing menu will open. Use the built-in tools of the service and graphic elements to decorate the post.
Save the changes and upload the result to your feed.

Note that this feature is not available if the user whose post you are taking has a private profile.

Possible mistakes when adding videos to stories

If you’re having trouble uploading a video to your Instagram story, you should try to solve the problem yourself or contact the social network’s technical support service. Let’s consider popular reasons for errors when publishing:

Check your internet connection quality. Without constant access to the World Wide Web, you won’t be able to upload content to your Instagram story. Also, a malfunction can occur due to a low network connection speed.
Outdated mobile device software. Update the operating system.
It is recommended to regularly update the Instagram mobile application to avoid malfunctions and errors. Try downloading and installing the utility on your smartphone again.
A brief program malfunction. Try restarting your device and the mobile application.
Incorrect operation of the phone itself.
The uploaded file does not comply with the social network’s established restrictions. Try to comply with Instagram’s requirements.

All of this can lead to unpleasant consequences.

The article discussed ways to upload videos to Instagram stories. Record videos in real-time using your device’s camera, as well as publish ready-made files from your phone’s internal memory. To ensure the service works without errors, it is recommended to comply with the service’s technical restrictions and regularly update the mobile application.