When users post videos on Instagram, they complain that they look different from how it appear in their gallery.
They claim that it looks cut short and they don’t understand why.
In this article, you will learn why Instagram crops your videos whenever you post them.
Why Does Instagram Crop My Video?
As a video creator, there are two ways to post your videos; either through Instagram reels or the normal post format.
Most users do not have a problem with the reel feature as it maintains the size of your posted videos.
Previously, there was the option of using IGtv but that feature was scrapped from the Instagram app in late 2021 with no explanation whatsoever. Probably because of Reel.
What they complain about is the normal post format and how it cuts short the size of your videos.
This is because Instagram has a standard aspect ratio for pictures and videos that are posted.
The aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of an image or video to its height.
Instagram’s aspect ratio for their videos is any size under 4:5 for portrait videos, 1:1 for square videos, and 1.91:1 for landscape videos.
This is because these are the only sizes that are compatible with the Instagram app.
Videos taken on mobile phones like iPhones and Android devices have an aspect ratio of either 3:2, 4:3, 19.5:9, 16:9 or 16:10
How To Check The Aspect Ratio Of Videos
You can check the aspect ratio of your videos to know whether they will be cropped or not before posting them on Instagram.
To do this, you will have to know the width and height size of your video > Divide them by their Greatest Common Factor to get your aspect ratio.
If this step seems complex to you, then you can use an aspect ratio calculator to find your aspect ratios. Many websites on the internet offer this service for free.
All you’ll have to do is input the width size and height size to fit it to calculate them for you.
You might be wondering if there is a way to change the aspect ratio of your videos to fit Instagram’s format and yes there is but Instagram has a preview feature that shows you what the video you want to post will look like when cropped before it is posted so we think the third-party apps are not necessary.
Conclusion
You would think that most Instagram users would prefer the Reels feature as it does not crop their videos. Using the Reels format has a limitation because your video is only set to thirty seconds.
In this article, we have discussed the reason why Instagram automatically crops your videos when you are posting them.
