--- title: "Bolta platform guides" description: "Direct answers to how social platforms work: privacy settings, posting limits, notifications and DMs, each with the date it was last verified." canonical_url: "https://bolta.ai/guides" markdown_url: "https://bolta.ai/guides.md" last_updated: "2026-07-28" content_type: "platform" publisher: "Bolta" --- # Bolta platform guides Source: https://bolta.ai/guides Last updated: 2026-07-28 Direct answers to how social platforms work: privacy settings, posting limits, notifications and DMs, each with the date it was last verified. ## Summary A how-to cluster covering Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads and YouTube. Each guide leads with a direct answer, shows step-by-step instructions where the task is procedural, and prints the date the platform behaviour was last verified. ## Instagram - [Instagram DMs: what they are and how to use them](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/dms): A DM is a private Instagram message. Here is where DMs live, why there is no separate Instagram DM app, how message requests work, and how to run an inbox for a business account. - [How to hide your followers and following list on Instagram](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/hide-followers-and-following): Instagram has no single toggle that hides your followers or following list. Here are the four levers that actually control who sees them — private account, remove, block and restrict — and what each one does. - [Does Instagram notify people when you screenshot?](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/screenshot-notifications): Instagram only sends a screenshot notification in one place: disappearing media in direct messages. Stories, feed posts, Reels, profiles and ordinary DMs are all silent. Here is the full rule, surface by surface. - [How to upload photos to Instagram](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/upload-photos): Step-by-step: posting one photo, posting several as a carousel, choosing an aspect ratio that survives cropping, and uploading to Instagram from a computer. - [How long can Instagram Reels be?](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/reels-length): The Reels length limit, the shorter cutoff that decides whether a Reel gets recommended, what happens to a video that is too long, and how long a Reel should actually be. - [Instagram Close Friends, explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/close-friends): What the Close Friends list is, exactly who can see a Close Friends Story, whether Instagram tells people you added or removed them, and how to manage the list. - [Instagram collab posts, explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/instagram/collab-posts): How a collab post appears on both profiles, how the shared likes and comments work, how to send an invite, and what happens when an invite is declined or ignored. ## TikTok - [How to get more followers on TikTok](https://bolta.ai/guides/tiktok/get-more-followers): Follower count on TikTok is a result of video performance, not a cause of it. Here is how distribution actually works, which signals matter, what cadence and niche consistency do, and which growth tactics waste your time. - [TikTok video length: limits, and how long is actually right](https://bolta.ai/guides/tiktok/video-length): How long a TikTok video can be depends on whether you record in the app, upload a file from your phone, or post from a browser. Here are the limits, the specs that cause rejected posts, and why longer is not automatically better. - [TikTok analytics explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/tiktok/analytics-explained): What each part of TikTok analytics measures, where to find it, and which numbers are worth changing your content over — watch time, retention and traffic source — versus the ones that only feel good. - [Can you see who viewed your TikTok profile?](https://bolta.ai/guides/tiktok/who-viewed-your-profile): TikTok's profile view history is opt-in, mutual and time-limited — turning it on to see your visitors also reveals your own visits. Here is how it works, and why third-party "see who viewed you" apps are a security risk. ## Facebook - [How to add music to a Facebook post](https://bolta.ai/guides/facebook/add-music-to-post): Where the music sticker lives, how Stories, Reels and feed posts differ, and why a business Page sees a smaller music catalogue than a personal profile. - [Facebook SEO: the two searches you are optimising for](https://bolta.ai/guides/facebook/facebook-seo): Facebook SEO is two separate jobs — ranking in Facebook's own search, and getting Page content indexed by Google. What each one rewards, and a checklist for both. - [Facebook Page vs personal profile](https://bolta.ai/guides/facebook/page-vs-profile): What a Facebook Page is, what a personal profile is, what a business loses by running on a profile, and how the two are connected behind the scenes. - [How to edit a Facebook post](https://bolta.ai/guides/facebook/edit-a-post): Editing a published Facebook post: where the option lives, which parts are editable, what happens to a boosted post, and who can read the public edit history. ## LinkedIn - [Who viewed your LinkedIn profile](https://bolta.ai/guides/linkedin/who-viewed-your-profile): How LinkedIn profile views work: why your own privacy setting decides whether your name shows up, what free accounts see versus Premium, and how to browse anonymously without losing your own viewer list. - [LinkedIn creator tools explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/linkedin/creator-tools): Creator mode was retired and its features spread across ordinary profiles. Here is what follow versus connect really changes, where topics, newsletters, the Featured section and analytics now sit, and what is worth turning on. - [LinkedIn post length limits](https://bolta.ai/guides/linkedin/post-length-limits): The character limits for LinkedIn posts, comments, articles and headlines, what counts toward them, and why the "see more" fold matters far more than the ceiling you are allowed to write to. ## X (Twitter) - [X character limits explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/x/character-limits): The character limits on X by account type, what actually counts toward them — links, media, handles, non-Latin scripts — and why a thread is usually the better answer than a very long post. - [How to control who can reply on X](https://bolta.ai/guides/x/who-can-reply): How reply controls work on X: the options available, how to set them in the composer or change them after posting, what happens to replies that already exist, and what restricted accounts can still do. - [How bookmarks work on X](https://bolta.ai/guides/x/bookmarks): What bookmarks on X are, how they differ from likes, whether the author is notified, whether the bookmark count is public, and how to save and organise posts you want to find again. ## Threads - [Threads and Instagram: what cross-posts and what does not](https://bolta.ai/guides/threads/cross-posting-with-instagram): Threads is built on your Instagram account, but the two apps are further apart than people expect. Here is what carries over, what does not, and how to share a thread to Instagram on purpose. - [Threads post limits: characters, media and video](https://bolta.ai/guides/threads/post-limits): How long a Threads post can be, how many photos or videos fit in one, how long video can run, and how replies chain together when you need more room than one post allows. - [Editing and deleting Threads posts](https://bolta.ai/guides/threads/edit-and-delete-posts): The Threads edit window, what happens to replies and reposts when you delete, and the thing that catches people out: what deactivating the linked Instagram account does to a Threads profile. ## YouTube - [How long can a YouTube Short be?](https://bolta.ai/guides/youtube/shorts-length): The maximum length of a YouTube Short, the aspect ratio that qualifies, how YouTube decides an upload is a Short, and what happens to a video that runs past the cap. - [YouTube Community posts explained](https://bolta.ai/guides/youtube/community-posts): What a YouTube Community post is, the eligibility requirement, the post types available, how they reach subscribers, and how to publish one from YouTube Studio or the mobile app. ## Relevant links - [Pricing](https://bolta.ai/pricing) - [AI agents](https://bolta.ai/agents)