Instagram Will soon start Automatically Showing Public Post Photos & Videos In Search Engine Results

Instagram / Photos & Videos in Search Engine Results

Starting July 10, 2025, Instagram will begin allowing search engines to automatically display public photos and videos from professional accounts in search results, according to in-app notifications users are seeing.

This will apply to content that’s already publicly visible on Instagram from professional accounts, but now it may be surfaced more broadly across the web, such as on Google, without requiring users to log into Instagram.

Creators will have the option to change this setting through their account privacy preferences if they want to opt out.

Why It Matters: Some are reporting that Instagram displaying photos and videos in search engines is a new feature, but it’s actually been around for a while. Creators have already had the ability to toggle this on and off, including myself., for several months. What may be new is Instagram and search engines surfacing more of this content and automatically allowing it to be displayed by default.

Regardless, this adds to the broader trend of social media platforms and AI-powered search engines becoming a primary way users discover content, including products, things to do, and news.

With this change, creators and brands have the opportunity to drive more visibility and traffic to their Instagram accounts, especially if they optimize properly, such as by refining the captions of their posts. TikTok is often seen as the leader in social media search and discovery, but Instagram, along with others like YouTube, is clearly working to strengthen its own search capabilities.

In a recent interview, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared that the platform is focused not only on improving its in-app search experience but also on helping Instagram content surface more prominently in external search results like Google.