Since Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, the two platforms have been clumsily dancing around integration.

In 2014, users were astonished to find their Instagram “likes” appear as Facebook posts, and in 2020, Facebook Messenger took over direct conversations on Instagram.

One of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta’s most recent attempts at site synergy is a prompt to encourage automatic cross-posting from Instagram to Facebook. Unfortunately, some users are unaware they have permitted cross-posting and are astonished to see their Instagram photographs appear on their Facebook sites.

Learn how and why you could have mistakenly allowed picture sharing between Instagram and Facebook, and how to turn it off using the Instagram mobile app.

app or website. More tech suggestions include how to access your Google data while offline and the best TikTok privacy settings for youngsters.

Why are my Instagram photographs appearing on my Facebook profile?

A snapshot of the Instagram mobile app’s invitation to automatically share stories and posts to Facebook. The Share button is large and blue, while the Not Now link is text-only underneath it.
Screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET.
Last year, Instagram began pushing users to automatically post photographs to Facebook. The prompt has a large blue button to opt in and a smaller link without a button to opt out — an interface design technique known as a “dark pattern.”

Many Instagram users are adopting the way.

According to The New York Times, the easiest way to close the prompt is to click the blue button. Some are astonished when their Instagram photographs become Facebook postings.

Whether you mistakenly enabled Facebook sharing or done it on purpose, it’s simple to disable it.

How can I stop Instagram photographs from automatically cross-posting to Facebook?

If you’re using the Instagram app, you may tweak the sharing options for each photo before uploading, but it’s simple to disable automatic sharing to Facebook entirely. I’ll teach you how to accomplish it using both iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as a web browser.

On either the iPhone or Android.

In the mobile app, navigate to your Instagram profile page, hit the hamburger, or three-line, symbol in the upper right corner, and then select Settings at the top of the menu. From the Settings menu, select Account, then Sharing with other applications, and finally Facebook.

screenshots of Instagram’s settings menu demonstrate how to select Account, Sharing with other applications, and Facebook settings.
Screenshot collage by Peter Butler for CNET.
A snapshot of the Instagram settings for sharing to Facebook, indicating that sharing stories, posts, and reels is enabled.
Screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET.
Once you’ve reached the Facebook sharing settings, you can set up automatic cross-posting for Instagram stories, posts, and reels. If you don’t want to automatically post anything on Facebook, simply turn the blue sliders off.

To deactivate automatic photo sharing to Facebook on the Instagram website, you’ll need to utilize a new Meta feature called the Accounts Center.

How can I disable automatic sharing from Instagram to Facebook in the Accounts Center?

A snapshot of Instagram’s Accounts Center options for sharing with Facebook
Screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET.
You may disable automatic Instagram post sharing with Facebook using the Meta Accounts Center function on either the website or the app. The Accounts Center is now the only method to disable automatic sharing in a web browser, and new text on the mobile settings page suggests it may soon be the sole way to do so in applications as well.

The connection to the Accounts Center is available at the

The bottom of the Instagram settings page on both the mobile applications and the website. Once in the Accounts Center, select Sharing across profiles to update your sharing options.

Under Share from, pick your Instagram account; if you’re automatically sharing material, Facebook will be included. The traditional blue sliders will allow you to enable and disable automatic sharing of posts, articles, and reels to Facebook.

You can also make these sharing adjustments using Facebook’s Accounts Center, which is identically styled.

The sole difference between the Instagram website’s Accounts Center and the mobile applications is that the apps allow you to regulate automatic Instagram reel sharing, but the website only has options for sharing stories and posts, not reels.For more tech hints, see how to send hidden messages from your iPhone and how to dodge advertisements in Safari.