Instagram just made one of its most popular post formats significantly more useful.
Starting today, you can add a unique caption to every single slide in a carousel post. So, instead of one caption trying to explain up to 20 different photos, each slide gets its own text underneath. It is the kind of addition that makes me wonder why it took this long.
So how exactly does the new Instagram caption feature work?
When creating a new carousel post, you will now see a toggle to switch between a single caption for the whole post (how it’s been so far) or individual captions for each slide.
Once you enable the feature, you can write a separate caption for each photo or video. As your followers swipe through the carousel, they will see each caption appear underneath the corresponding slide.
The feature supports up to 20 slides with 20 unique captions, matching the carousel’s current slide limit.
Why does this actually matter beyond photo dumps?
While the feature will surely benefit casual posting, it will also benefit content creators. It allows creators to turn a single carousel into a micro-blog.
You can walk your followers through a step-by-step tutorial, showcase multiple products with individual descriptions or details, or add context that matches each image.
There is also a meaningful accessibility upgrade here. Users who rely on screen readers and other assistive technology will now get the same narrative flow as sighted users.
Instagram says the feature went live at 9 AM PT today. Given that the platform has over 2 billion users worldwide, it could take up to a week for the feature to become available on your account.