Photo Mode (TikTok's carousels) is a swipeable set of images with music. It's great for recipes, outfit breakdowns, lists and travel dumps.
| What | Spec | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Photos per post | Up to 35 | Official (developer docs) |
| Title | Up to 90 characters | Official (developer docs) |
| Description | Up to 4,000 characters | Official (developer docs) |
| Image format via the API | JPEG or WebP, up to 1080p, max 20 MB each | Official (developer docs) |
| Best ratio | 9:16 (1080 × 1920). 4:5 and 1:1 also work but may show bars. | Third-party guides |
| Music | Yes, add a sound like you would on a video | Widely documented |
| Alt text | You can add it during upload or after posting (since April 2025) | TikTok newsroom |
TikTok Stories
- Short posts that disappear after 24 hours. They show as a ring around your profile picture.
- Third-party guides say each Story clip is capped at 15 seconds Check in-app.
- Stories haven't rolled out in every market. If you don't see Story on the create screen, it isn't available on your account yet.
- Stories are lighter-touch than your main posts. They're good for quick updates, polls, and "I'm going live soon" reminders.