Posting AI images on Instagram: a clean-file checklist

2026-10-16 · 4 min read

An AI picture often needs a few small steps before it is ready to post. This checklist covers size, a clean file and an honest caption. Sizes below are the commonly used ones; check Instagram’s help pages for the current recommendations.

1. Pick the right shape

Use	Common size	Shape
Portrait post	1080 × 1350 px	4:5
Square post	1080 × 1080 px	1:1
Landscape post	1080 × 566 px	1.91:1
Story or Reel cover	1080 × 1920 px	9:16

Ask the AI tool for the shape you need, or leave room at the edges. Cropping the bottom-right corner to hide a logo costs you part of the picture, so rebuilding the corner is usually better.

2. Remove the corner logo

If the picture has the small Gemini sparkle, clean it before you post. Look at the corner at full size afterwards.

The picture is a demo picture we made for this website (no real people, no client work). The sparkle was drawn by us in the same shape as the Gemini one, and the list comes from a test file we prepared. The cleaning and the report are the real Image Cleaner.

Example portrait picture with a white sparkle in the bottom-right corner — Before: sparkle in the corner

The same example picture after cleaning, the corner is clean — After: clean corner

3. Remove hidden data for privacy

GPS location, if the file has one.
Camera or software names and dates.
The prompt, if your tool saved it as a text note in the file.

Image Cleaner lists what the original carried and checks that the cleaned file has none. See what image metadata is.

4. Keep quality up

Start from the original file, not a screenshot.
Avoid saving the picture again and again as a JPEG. Each save loses a little quality.
Check the picture on your phone before you post.

5. Be open in the caption and the label

Use Instagram’s AI label when your post contains realistic AI content.
Add a short caption line such as “Created with AI”. Many followers appreciate it.
Do not present an AI image as a real photo or a real event.

Cleaning a file is about privacy and a tidy look. It does not change the fact that the picture is AI-generated, and invisible watermarks such as SynthID stay in the picture. Read the full explanation of the AI info label.

6. Alt text

Add a short description of what the picture shows. It helps people who use screen readers and does not cost anything.