How to resize images for social media

Every platform crops your picture to its own shape. Deciding that crop yourself is the difference between a clean post and one with someone's head cut off.

Resize an image
Whichever tool you use here, the file stays on your device. How that works

Step by step

  1. 1Work out the shape the platform uses: square, portrait, or wide.
  2. 2Crop to that shape first, choosing what stays in frame.
  3. 3Resize to around 1080 pixels on the long edge, which is enough for any feed.
  4. 4Compress it afterwards if you want a faster upload.

Shape matters more than pixel count

Feeds display a fixed aspect ratio and will crop anything that does not match. A wide landscape photo posted where a square is expected loses both ends, and the platform picks what to cut, not you.

Enormous resolution is wasted. Almost every platform re-encodes what you upload and serves something much smaller, so a 6000 pixel original gains you nothing except upload time. Around 1080 pixels on the long edge is the sensible ceiling.

Profile pictures are usually displayed as circles even when you upload a square. Leave a margin around the face, because the corners of your image will not be visible.

Questions

What size should I use?

Platforms change their numbers regularly. Match the shape, keep the long edge around 1080 pixels, and you will be fine nearly everywhere.

Can I do several at once?

Yes, resize a batch with the same settings.

Are my images uploaded?

No.