Adding stickers to Instagram is a three-step process: open your story or post editor, tap the sticker icon, and choose from Instagram's built-in library or upload your own
Instagram stickers work differently depending on whether you're adding them to a Story or a regular post. Stories give you access to the full sticker library and let you resize, rotate, and move stickers freely. Regular posts only let you add stickers during the editing stage before you publish, and they're more limited. The sticker icon looks like a square with a smiley face and appears in the top toolbar of both editors.
You can use stickers that Instagram provides for free — like polls, questions, countdowns, and location tags — or you can create custom stickers from your own images. Custom stickers let you turn photos, graphics, or text into sticker packs that you can reuse across multiple posts and stories.
Key Takeaways
- Stories let you add stickers before posting, but regular posts only let you add them during editing, and you cannot add them after publishing.
- The sticker icon is in the top toolbar of the story or post editor and opens a menu with built-in stickers like polls, questions, and location tags.
- Custom stickers come from images you upload to Instagram's sticker maker, and you can create multiple packs to organize them by theme or project.
- Stickers can be resized, rotated, and layered on top of each other, and you can delete individual stickers by tapping and holding them.
Adding stickers to an Instagram Story
Open Instagram and tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your Stories camera. Take a photo or video, or swipe up to choose an existing image from your phone. Once you have your content, tap the sticker icon in the top toolbar — it looks like a square with a smiley face inside.
A menu will appear showing all available stickers. Scroll through the options to find what you want. Instagram's built-in stickers include polls (where followers vote between two options), questions (where followers type answers), countdowns (to a specific date), location tags, hashtag stickers, and mention stickers. Tap any sticker to add it to your story. You can then pinch to resize it, rotate it with two fingers, and drag it anywhere on the screen. Tap the sticker again to delete it.
You can add as many stickers as you want to a single story. If you add a poll or question sticker, followers will see their responses in your story replies, and you can view all responses by opening the story and swiping up. When you're done, tap "Your Story" at the bottom to post it.
Adding stickers to a regular Instagram post
Open Instagram and tap the plus icon in the bottom center to create a new post. Choose photos or videos from your phone, then tap "Next" to move to the editing screen. On the editing screen, you'll see a toolbar at the top with several icons. Tap the sticker icon (the square with a smiley face) to open the sticker menu.
Select the stickers you want to add. Regular posts support fewer sticker types than stories — you can use location tags, hashtag stickers, and mention stickers, but interactive stickers like polls and questions are not available. Add as many as you want, resize and rotate them the same way you would in a story, then tap "Share" to post.
Unlike stories, you cannot add stickers to a post after you publish it. If you want to change the stickers, you have to delete the post and create a new one. This is why many creators use stories for content that changes frequently and regular posts for permanent content.
Creating and uploading custom stickers
Custom stickers let you turn your own images into stickers that you can add to stories and posts. To create a custom sticker pack, open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right, then tap "Settings and privacy." Scroll down and tap "Creator." Tap "Stickers" to open the sticker manager.
Tap "Create a sticker pack" and give it a name — for example, "My Logo" or "Brand Graphics." Tap "Add stickers to this pack" and choose images from your phone. Instagram will automatically remove the background from your images, but you can also upload images that already have transparent backgrounds for better results. You can add up to 30 stickers per pack and create multiple packs for different themes or projects.
Once your stickers are uploaded, they appear in your sticker menu the next time you open the story or post editor. Tap the sticker icon, scroll to find your custom pack, and tap any sticker to add it. Custom stickers work exactly like built-in stickers — you can resize, rotate, and delete them the same way.
Resizing, rotating, and layering stickers
After you add a sticker, you can change its size and angle. To resize a sticker, pinch inward to make it smaller or pinch outward to make it larger. To rotate a sticker, place two fingers on it and twist clockwise or counterclockwise. You can rotate stickers to any angle, which is useful for creating dynamic layouts.
To move a sticker, tap and drag it to a new location on your story or post. Stickers layer on top of each other in the order you add them — the last sticker you add appears on top. If you want to change the layer order, delete the sticker and add it again. To delete a sticker, tap and hold it until a trash icon appears, then tap the trash icon.
You can add stickers on top of text, photos, or other stickers. This layering lets you create complex designs with multiple elements. Some creators use this technique to build branded templates that they reuse across multiple stories.
Troubleshooting common sticker problems
If the sticker icon does not appear in your toolbar, make sure you're using the latest version of Instagram. Open your phone's app store, search for Instagram, and tap "Update" if an update is available. Sticker features sometimes roll out slowly to different accounts, so if you still don't see the sticker icon after updating, wait a few days — Instagram may be rolling out the feature to your account.
If your custom stickers are not showing up in the sticker menu, check that you uploaded them correctly. Go back to Settings and privacy, tap Creator, tap Stickers, and verify that your sticker pack appears in the list. If it does not, try creating a new pack and uploading the images again. Make sure your images are in a supported format — Instagram accepts JPG, PNG, and GIF files.
If a sticker is stuck or will not move, tap it once to select it, then try dragging it again. If it still will not move, delete it and add it again. If stickers are disappearing from your story or post before you publish, this usually means Instagram is having a temporary issue — try closing the app completely and opening it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add stickers to posts I already published?
No. Stickers can only be added during the editing stage before you publish a post. Once a post is live, you cannot add, remove, or change stickers without deleting the entire post and creating a new one. Stories work the same way — you cannot edit stickers after posting a story.
Do followers see my custom stickers if I share my story to my feed?
Yes. When you save a story to your feed as a highlight or regular post, any custom stickers you added appear in the saved version. Followers can see them the same way they see built-in stickers.
What happens to stickers if I edit a post after publishing?
You cannot edit stickers on published posts. Instagram lets you edit the caption and some other details, but stickers are locked once the post goes live. If you need to change stickers, delete the post and create a new one.
Can I use stickers from other creators or apps?
No. Instagram only lets you add stickers that you created yourself or stickers that Instagram provides. You cannot import sticker packs from other apps or download stickers from other creators. You can only use custom stickers that you uploaded through Instagram's sticker manager.
Why do some stickers look blurry when I add them?
Stickers become blurry when you enlarge them too much. Start with a sticker at a reasonable size and avoid pinching outward excessively. If you need larger stickers, create new custom stickers from higher-resolution images and upload them to a new sticker pack.