The right image sizes for Instagram, Stories, YouTube and X

Instagram feed: 1080 × 1080 (square, 1:1) or 1080 × 1350 (portrait, 4:5), which takes up more of the screen. Stories and Reels: 1080 × 1920 (9:16). YouTube thumbnails: 1280 × 720 (16:9). X (Twitter) images in the timeline: 1600 × 900 (16:9) works well. Full HD wallpapers and presentations: 1920 × 1080.

Platforms change their layouts from time to time, but these sizes have been stable for years and are a safe default.

The shape matters more than the exact number. A landscape photo squeezed into a 9:16 Story either gets thick bars or gets cropped by the app wherever it decides. Cropping it yourself to 9:16 lets you choose what stays in the frame.

Localvert's Resize Image tool has these presets built in: it fills the frame and trims the edges evenly from the center, so nothing is stretched.

Facebook link previews and shared images: 1200 × 630. LinkedIn posts: 1200 × 627 for landscape images or 1080 × 1080 for square ones. Pinterest pins: 1000 × 1500 (2:3). Profile pictures on most platforms are shown as a circle cut from a square, so keep faces and logos away from the corners.

When a platform's help page gives a different number, follow it — but keep the aspect ratio in mind, because that is what determines cropping.

Most platforms accept JPG and PNG up to several megabytes. JPG is the safe choice for photos; PNG suits graphics with text, which stays sharper after the platform's compression. If an upload fails for being too large, resize first and then use Compress Image to get under the limit without guessing quality settings.

Platforms re-compress every upload. Sending a huge 12-megapixel photo means the app has to shrink it with its own, often aggressive, settings. Sending an image that already matches the target size gives the platform less to change and usually looks sharper.

Avoid upscaling small images: making a 600-pixel image 1080 pixels wide adds blur, not detail.