Instagram - How To Cite Your Work | Giving Credit - Research Guides

MLA - 9th Ed.

For this style: Double-spaced and hanging indent in the works cited page. This is an example of an Instagram post. For more extensive advice, see the Purdue Online Writing Lab’s MLA Works Cited Page: Electronic Sources page and the MLA style center's Citing Social Media page.

Lastname, Firstname or username. [handle]. "First several words of Instagram post (if any)..." Instagram, Day Mon. Year posted, URL. Optional: Accessed Date Mon. Year. Pro Tip: If the handle resembles the account name, generally omit the handle if you include a URL.

Example: When, Olivia. [@oliviawhen]. "Happy National Library Week..." Instagram, 8 Apr. 2025, instagram.com/p/DILNpU-xX57. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.

Note About MLA URLs: It is advised to include the full URL, but if it is over three lines or longer than the rest of the entry, you can shorten it. First, remove the protocol and // (i.e. https://). If it is still overly long, you can remove everything after the host site that's not helpful to researchers. The intention is for other scholars to be able to find cited content, which should be possible through the host site link if all the other elements of your citation are present. See: section 5.96 of the handbook or the MLA Style Center's advice.

APA - 7th Ed.

For this style: Double-spaced and hanging indent in the references page. This is an example of an Instagram post. For more extensive advice, see section 10.15 in Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.

Last name, First name or username. [@handle]. (Year, Month Day posted). First several words of Instagram post (if any)... [Photo] or [Video]. Instagram. URL. Or, optionally: Retrieved Year, Month Day from URL.

Example: Olivia When. [@oliviawhen]. (2025, April 8). Happy National Library Week… [Photo]. Instagram. Retrieved 2025, December 19 from instagram.com/p/DILNpU-xX57.

Note about APA URLs: You can shorten long, complex URLs in the APA style using a link shortening service. However this is not always the best solution depending on your publication situation. There is more guidance on making this choice here.

Chicago - 17th Ed.

For this style: Single-spaced (with blank space between each citation) and hanging indent in the bibliography. This is an example of an Instagram post. For more extensive advice, see section 14.267 in The Chicago Manual of Style Online and Perdue Owl's Web Sources page.

Lastname, Firstname or username (@handle). Year. "Text of Instagram post up until 160 characters" Instagram. Month Day, Year posted. URL.

Example: When, Olivia (@olviawhen). 2025. "Happy National Library Week!! A great time to ask everyone you know if they have a library card." Instagram photo, April 8, 2025. instagram.com/p/DILNpU-xX57

Note About Chicago URLs: The Chicago Manual of Style notes that shortened versions of a URL provided by link shortening services should never be used unless it is a DOI. Full information about what is and is not allowed when shortening URLs are available in section 14.10 in The Chicago Manual of Style Online.