Which social networks let a tool post for you? What the official APIs allow in 2026

When a scheduler promises to "post everywhere automatically", it is really promising that it holds approved access to each network's publishing API, that your account type qualifies, and that your post uses only features the API supports. This page goes network by network through what the official developer documentation allows today: who can be posted for, how many posts a day, which formats work, what has to be approved first and what you still have to do in the app. We read every page ourselves on 31 October 2026 and link each one where it is used. For the short Instagram-only version, see whether an AI can post to Instagram automatically.

Which networks let a tool post for you, and with what limits?

Instagram, TikTok, X, Threads, LinkedIn and Google Business Profile all offer a publishing API, and Reddit no longer realistically does for commercial tools. The table is the one-screen summary; the sections below give the detail and the source for each cell. Checked 31 Oct 2026.

The Reddit rate figure comes from our rulebook's reading of Reddit's Data API wiki, which our tools could not reopen on 31 October; the rest of the row is sourced below.

Can a scheduling tool post to Instagram automatically?

Yes, to professional accounts: Meta's Content Publishing API lets an approved app publish single images, carousels, Reels and Stories for business and creator accounts, but not for personal ones. The Content Publishing guide says "Instagram accounts are limited to 100 API-published posts within a 24-hour moving period" and that "Carousels count as a single post". The same page's carousel section says accounts "are limited to 50 published posts within a 24-hour period", without explaining the difference, so a careful tool plans for 50 and reads the live number from the account's publishing-limit endpoint.

The formats the API accepts, from the guide and the media reference, checked 31 Oct 2026:

• Images: "JPEG is the only image format supported." A PNG or WebP file has to be converted first.
• Carousels: "limited to 20 images, videos, or a mix of the two", matching the app.
• Reels: 3 seconds minimum, 15 minutes maximum, 300 MB maximum.
• Stories: video stories run 3 to 60 seconds.
• Captions: the reference still says "Maximum 2200 characters, 30 hashtags, and 20 @ tags". Instagram itself has been capping posts at 5 hashtags since December 2025, so the API number is not the one to plan by; our Instagram rules for business accounts has the detail.
• Collaborators: up to 3 usernames on feed posts, Reels and carousels, not on Stories. Meta's separate collaborators reference says 5, so plan for 3.
• AI disclosure: an is_ai_generated field adds the "AI info" self-disclosure.

What you cannot do through the API matters as much. The guide states that "Shopping tags are not supported" and "Filters are not supported". Licensed music is possible only through the newer Instagram Audio API, which "is not supported on the Instagram API with Instagram Login" (a tool needs the Facebook Login route and a linked Facebook Page), returns only audio "authorized for third party use", and has one more catch: "Previewing a Reel with attached audio is not supported." The media reference lists no field for Story stickers such as polls or links.

There is also no native scheduling. An unpublished upload container expires: "The container was not published within 24 hours and has expired." So every scheduler that says it posts to Instagram at 9:00 next Tuesday is running its own queue and calling the API at that moment.

Why do TikTok posts from some apps go out as private?

Because the app has not passed TikTok's audit yet: until it does, every post it makes is private. TikTok's Content Posting API overview (last updated 4 August 2026) says "All content posted by unaudited clients will be restricted to private viewing mode", and the Content Sharing Guidelines add that "Unaudited API Clients can allow up to 5 users to post in a 24 hour window" and that "All user accounts using the API client to post must be set to private at the time of posting." After the audit, each app gets a 24-hour cap on active creators.

TikTok offers two ways in:

1. Direct Post publishes straight to the profile. The app must follow TikTok's interface rules, checked 31 Oct 2026: it shows the creator's nickname; "Users must manually select the privacy status from a dropdown and there should be no default value"; comment, Duet and Stitch toggles start off; a commercial content switch marks a post as "Promotional content" (your own brand) or "Paid partnership" (someone else's); the screen shows "By posting, you agree to TikTok's Music Usage Confirmation"; and the app may send nothing until the person has seen a preview and consented. It must not add its own watermark or logo.
2. Upload to inbox sends the video or photos to the creator's TikTok inbox, and, per the upload guide, "they must click on inbox notifications to continue the editing flow in TikTok and complete the post." This needs approval for the video.upload scope, and it is the route that lets a person finish the post inside TikTok, for example to choose a sound.

Limits worth knowing: the guidelines say the daily cap "may vary among creators (typically around 15 posts per day/ creator account)", and the Direct Post reference (updated 27 October 2026) allows 6 initialization requests per minute per user token. The same reference has is_aigc ("Set to true if the video is AI generated content", which shows "Creator labeled as AI-generated") and two disclosure flags, brand_organic_toggle for your own business and brand_content_toggle for a paid partnership.

How much does it cost to post on X through the API?

X charges per request: $0.015 to create a post and $0.200 to create a post that contains a URL, according to X's API pricing page, checked 31 Oct 2026. The page says "The X API uses pay-per-usage pricing. No subscriptions", lists no free tier, and caps pay-per-use plans at 3 million post reads per monthly cycle. New paying developers can earn $20 in API credits after their first purchase.

For a business posting 60 times a month, that is $0.90 without links or $12 if every post carries one. The amounts are small, but the 13x jump explains why some tools treat links on X as a cost decision.

The rate limits page allows 100 post requests per 15 minutes per user and 10,000 per 24 hours per app; that app-wide ceiling is shared by every customer of a tool. The create-post reference allows up to 4 photos, 1 GIF or 1 video per post, videos up to 20 minutes (125 minutes for Premium or verified accounts), polls with 2 to 4 options, and two disclosure flags: made_with_ai and paid_partnership. Quote posts "are not available on self-serve (pay-per-use) tiers".

Can a tool post to Reddit for you?

Not legitimately for a commercial tool without a written deal with Reddit. Section 4.1 of Reddit's Developer Terms (last revised 24 March 2026) forbids using Reddit's services and data "by or on behalf of a business or as part of a service or product that is monetized" unless Reddit approves it in writing. A paid scheduler posting for paying customers fits that description.

The public route is also closing. As TechRepublic and PPC Land reported from Reddit's developer announcement, new requests for public API access stopped being accepted on 31 October 2026, access for unregistered apps starts being removed on 12 January 2027, and public access closes for all remaining apps in March 2027. We could not open Reddit's own announcement with our tools, so these dates rest on those reports.

That is why Feedhand treats Reddit as a manual network: it prepares the title, the body, the flair and the subreddit's rules, and you post it yourself from the submit page. Reddit communities also have their own self-promotion rules, which an API would not solve anyway.

Do LinkedIn, Threads and Google Business Profile allow API posting?

Yes, all three have publishing APIs, and all three put an approval step in front of them.

LinkedIn. The Posts API creates organic text, image, video, document, article, multi-image and poll posts; it says "Organic carousel is currently not supported." Posting as a person uses the w_member_social permission, and posting as a company page needs w_organization_social, which works only where the signed-in member is an administrator, content admin or direct sponsored content poster. Access comes through the Community Management API, a "Vetted Product with development and standard tiers": the development tier has limited call volume, and the standard tier needs a screencast of every use case. LinkedIn also versions its API; marketing version 202511 is sunset on 16 November 2026.

Threads. The Threads API publishes text, images, videos and carousels. "Text posts are limited to 500 characters", carousels take 2 to 20 items, "The number of links is restricted to 5 or fewer", and "Profiles are limited to 250 published posts within a 24-hour period". Apps without advanced access for threads_content_publish can only post for Threads testers.

Google Business Profile. The localPosts API creates standard, event and offer posts with buttons such as Book, Order, Shop, Learn more, Sign up and Call; alert posts "are not always available for authoring". To get access, per Google's prerequisites, you need a profile that is "verified and active for 60+ days", a website for the business and an approved access request; "If your quota is 0 QPM (Queries Per Minute), your project has not yet been approved", while 300 QPM means approved.

Feedhand writes LinkedIn, Threads and Google Business Profile posts today as ready packages you post yourself.

What breaks automatic posting in practice?

Most failed auto-posts come from the account, the file or a feature the API does not have, not from the tool's clock. The common causes, each traceable to the documentation above:

1. The wrong account type. Instagram's API publishes only to professional accounts. Switching a personal account to creator or business in Instagram's settings is the usual fix.
2. An unaudited TikTok app. The post goes out but nobody can see it, because unaudited apps post privately.
3. A feature missing from the API. Shopping tags and filters on Instagram, library sounds in TikTok Direct Post, organic carousels on LinkedIn, quote posts on self-serve X. A good tool tells you before scheduling, or falls back to a notification so you finish the post in the app.
4. File format and length. Instagram takes JPEG images only, Reels from 3 seconds to 15 minutes and Story videos up to 60 seconds; a file outside those limits fails at upload.
5. Daily caps. 50 or 100 API posts on Instagram, around 15 on TikTok per creator, 250 on Threads. Few small businesses hit them, but an agency running many accounts through one app can hit X's 10,000-per-app ceiling.
6. Disconnected access. When a person removes the app's access or a token is not refreshed, posting stops until the account is reconnected.
7. Publishing rules that are not technical. Reddit communities, TikTok's commercial disclosure and the AI labels described in our answer on whether AI posts need a label still apply when the post is sent by a machine.

If a scheduler falls back to "we'll send you a reminder to post" for some posts, it is usually because of items 1, 3 or 4. The Feedhand vs Buffer comparison shows how one popular scheduler lists those fallback cases.

Where does Feedhand stand on auto-posting today?

Feedhand does not post automatically yet; auto-posting is coming soon, and today every approved post arrives as a ready, full-resolution package you share in one tap. When auto-posting launches, accounts will connect only through Instagram's, TikTok's and X's own official sign-in screens, so Feedhand never asks for a password, and the limits on this page will apply to it exactly as they apply to any other tool. Reddit stays a manual package for the reasons above.

What Feedhand does instead is the part before posting: it reads your website or app, plans the month for each platform, and writes and produces the posts with the platform's rules (formats, hashtag cap, AI and paid-partnership labels) already applied. Prices are per brand and per platform; see the pricing section. If you are comparing tools on price, our social media tool pricing comparison lists what each one costs for one brand on three platforms.

See what a month of ready posts looks like

The quickest way to judge whether you need auto-posting or better posts is to look at the posts. Answer a few questions about your brand and, about a minute later, the free preview shows a brand summary and 3 first-draft posts in platform previews, with no credit card: get your free preview.

Frequently asked questions

Is it against Instagram's rules to use a scheduler?

No, when the scheduler uses Meta's official Content Publishing API, which exists for exactly this. Tools that log in as you or drive the app or a browser on your behalf are a different thing and put the account at risk.

Why did my TikTok video posted from an app show as "only me"?

Most likely the app has not passed TikTok's audit. TikTok's developer guide says content from unaudited clients is restricted to private viewing, and the account must be private at the time of posting.

Does posting a link on X cost more?

Through the API, yes: X's pricing page lists $0.015 for a post and $0.200 for a post that contains a URL, checked 31 October 2026. Posting the same link by hand in the X app costs nothing.

Can any tool post to Reddit automatically in 2026?

Only with Reddit's written approval for commercial use, under section 4.1 of its Developer Terms, and new public API access requests closed on 31 October 2026. A tool that posts to Reddit without such a deal is breaking those terms.

Does auto-posting help reach?

There is no official statement from Instagram, TikTok or X that posts sent through the API rank differently from posts made in the app. What helps is posting consistently at a cadence you can keep; see how often a business should post.

Keep going — related questions

• Can an AI social media manager post to Instagram automatically?
• Instagram rules for business accounts in 2026
• Social media tool pricing compared for one brand
• What an AI social media manager does and does not do
• Feedhand vs Hootsuite: honest comparison

Sources: Meta developer docs (Instagram Content Publishing, IG User Media reference, Audio API, Threads Posts), TikTok for Developers (Content Posting API overview, upload guide, Content Sharing Guidelines, Direct Post reference), X developer docs (pricing, rate limits, create post), Reddit Developer Terms, TechRepublic and PPC Land on Reddit's API timeline, Microsoft Learn (LinkedIn Posts API, Community Management overview), Google Business Profile API (localPosts, prerequisites); checked 31 Oct 2026.