To do a collab post on Instagram, build a feed post, carousel or reel in the app as usual, open Tag people on the last screen, choose Invite collaborators, pick the account and share. Instagram's Create collaborative posts page says the post is added to a collaborator's profile and shared with their followers once they accept the invite, and that you can add up to 5 collaborators to a post.
Collabs are a co-authoring feature, not a payment or disclosure tool. This guide covers the feature itself: inviting co-authors, who sees the post, what each side controls and how to leave. Partnerships between subscription-platform creators are covered in our creator partnership guide, and paid brand work needs the paid partnership label explained in the checklist below.
Step by step: invite, accept or decline
Instagram's Collabs page lists the actions you can take: invite a collaborator while creating, remove one while creating, accept or decline an invite, remove a collaborator after publishing, and remove yourself from someone else's post. Collabs live in the phone and tablet apps; the help page notes the feature isn't available on computers. Menu labels shift a little between app versions, so treat the wording below as a guide to where things are rather than exact button text.
If you are creating the post:
- Create the post, carousel or reel and edit it as you normally would.
- On the final screen before sharing, tap Tag people, then Invite collaborators.
- Search for the account, select it, repeat for any other co-authors, then tap Done.
- Share. The post goes live on your profile straight away and joins each collaborator's profile when they accept.
To drop someone before you share, go back into Tag people and remove them there. After publishing, the original creator can still remove a collaborator at any time from the post's edit options.
If you have been invited:
- Open the invite from your notifications or messages and review the post before deciding.
- Accept to be listed as an author, or decline if the post isn't what you agreed.
- If you accept and later change your mind, open the post's options and remove yourself as a collaborator.
Until you accept, the post sits on the creator's profile only. That gives you a moment to check the caption, the tags and the cover before your name goes on it.
Who can see a collab post
Visibility follows the original author. Instagram's About collab posts page says the original author's account settings determine the settings for the post, and if that author switches to private, only their followers can see it. The Create collaborative posts page adds the rules for who can invite whom:
- A public account can invite public or private accounts to collaborate.
- A private account can invite public or private accounts, but only accounts that follow it. If a public account accepts, the post is shared publicly through that public collaborator.
- The first time a private account invites a collaborator, Instagram explains who can see collaborative posts, and the account has to acknowledge that before it can invite followers on future posts.
- When a private account accepts an invite, its username appears on the post, but anyone who wants to follow it still has to send a follow request.
One inconsistency is worth knowing about. The About page describes the public original author tagging a private or public account, which reads as if only public accounts can start a collab, while the more detailed Create page sets out how private accounts can invite their followers. Follow the detailed page, but if you run a private account, try it on a low-stakes post before planning a launch around it.
What the creator and the collaborator each control
A collab looks equal on screen, with both names in the header, but control is lopsided. This table sets out who can do what, using only the two Instagram pages that describe it.
| Situation | Original creator | Collaborator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deleting the post | The only one who can delete it; deletion removes it from collaborators' profiles too | Can't delete it | Create page |
| Adding or removing co-authors | Can add or remove a collaborator at any time | Can only remove themselves | About page |
| Leaving | The post stays on their profile | Can leave at any time; the post stays on the creator's profile | Create page |
| Blocking | If either side blocks the other, the collaboration ends and the post stays on the creator's profile | Same rule applies | Create page |
| Deactivation | If they deactivate, the post no longer exists; reactivating restores it on both profiles | The post leaves their profile with the creator's | Create page |
| Post settings and privacy | Their account settings determine the post's settings | Follows the creator's settings | About page |
| Likes and comments | Sees them as on any post | Can see all likes and comments once they accept | Create page |
| Rule breaches | Instagram removes violating posts and may act against the original creator | Instagram may also act against collaborators' accounts | Create page |
Read the table before accepting a collab on someone else's account. You become a listed author and the post reaches your followers, but you can't delete it, and its future depends on an account you don't run.
Insights: what Instagram documents, and what it doesn't
Instagram's help pages make one promise about data: accounts that accept a collaboration invite can see all likes and comments, according to the posts page and the matching collaborative reels page. Neither page says whether collaborators get the full insights view, such as reach or follows gained, and third-party guides disagree with each other on that point.
So treat insights as something to agree rather than assume. Before posting, settle who will capture the post's insights, which figures they will share and when. That matters most when one side reports results to a sponsor or wants evidence before collaborating again, and it pairs naturally with the results section of an influencer media kit.
The co-author limit has moved too. An August 2023 Instagram for Creators announcement said you could invite up to three collaborators, while the current help page says up to 5 for posts and the reels page simply says you can add multiple collaborators. Tutorials quoting the lower figure are out of date; go by the current help page and what your app allows.
Collab agreement checklist
A collab is easy to start and awkward to unwind, because one account owns it. Agree these points in writing, even in a short message thread, before anyone taps Share.
- Who posts. The original creator owns and maintains the post and is the only one who can delete it, so decide whose account starts it and what happens if that account goes private or is deactivated.
- Caption owner. Decide who writes the caption, who approves it and how either side asks for a change after it is live. The original author's settings govern the post, so changes go through them.
- Tags and keywords. Agree the hashtag set and the caption wording together, since both appear under both names. Our guide to the Instagram hashtag limit has a slot planner you can fill in jointly.
- Assets and audio. Note who supplies the footage, photos and sound, and who holds the right to use each one.
- Insights sharing. Write down which figures the original creator will share, in what format and by what date.
- Removal terms. Agree when either side may leave or remove the other, how much notice they give, and whether a reason is owed.
- Exit plan for the content. If the partnership ends, decide whether the post stays up on the creator's profile, gets archived or gets deleted.
- Paid or gifted. If a brand pays or gifts either side, use the paid partnership label. Instagram's branded content page says creators must tag business partners when there is an exchange of value, including gifted products; a collab credit is not that disclosure.
- Account standing. Both accounts should be in good standing, since the Create page says accounts that have broken Instagram's guidelines may not have access to Collabs and a violating post can bring action against every author.
- Pricing, if one side is hired. When a collab is really paid content work, price it like any other deliverable; the UGC rates worksheet helps set a rate and usage terms.
Collabs compared with tags and mentions
The Create page draws the line between a collab and a plain tag or mention:
- A tag or mention doesn't share the post with your followers; a collab does.
- A tagged photo can be added to your profile automatically unless you approve tags manually, whereas a collab needs you to accept the invite.
- A tag doesn't list you as an author; accepting a collab does.
- You can mention accounts in Stories, but you can't add collaborators to them.
Use a tag to credit someone who helped. Use a collab when both accounts want the post on their profiles and in their followers' feeds and both accept the ownership rules above. For deciding whether the shared piece should be a reel, a carousel or something lighter, see Instagram Reels vs posts vs Stories; note that Stories are out, because they can't carry collaborators.
Limitations of this guide
This guide reflects Instagram's Help Center pages as they read when it was last updated. Collabs roll out unevenly, button labels move between app versions, and Instagram says some accounts may not have access at all, so your screens may not match these steps exactly. The help pages also leave gaps, mainly on insights and on edits after publishing, which is why the checklist moves those points into a written agreement.
The checklist is general information, not legal advice. Where real money, usage rights or exclusivity are involved, a short written contract reviewed by a qualified professional is safer than a message thread. If you are comparing where a joint campaign should run in the first place, Instagram vs TikTok for creators sets the two platforms' documented features side by side.