Foundations
Voice & Writing
Instagram's voice is direct, warm, and playful without being silly. Every string — from button labels to error messages — follows the same register: say the thing, in the fewest words, in a human tone.
Voice principles
Four pillars of the Instagram voice
These principles apply to every surface. They are not a sliding scale — a button label needs to be direct AND warm AND purposeful AND inclusive simultaneously.
Direct
Every word earns its place. Instagram copy never pads out to fill space — it states the thing and stops.
Warm
The tone is friendly and human — never clinical. Avoid corporate or technical language at all interaction points.
Playful but purposeful
Personality shows up in moments of delight — empty states, onboarding, success states — not in utility labels where clarity is the job.
Inclusive
Language never assumes gender, relationship status, or ability. Default to neutral forms; avoid colloquialisms that exclude.
Tone scale
Personality by surface
Tone isn't fixed — it shifts with context. Navigation labels get zero personality; empty states and celebration moments earn the most. Match the weight of the moment.
Copy patterns
Rules by surface type
Each surface type has a specific word count, sentence pattern, and personality level. The right pattern for the wrong surface sounds off — always match pattern to context.
Button labels
Verb only — no articles, no objects. Max 2 words.
Do
Post
Follow
Share
Save
Edit
Decline
Allow
Don't
Post now
Follow this account
Share to feed
Save to collection
Empty states
Explain what's missing, then invite action. One short headline + one supporting sentence max.
Do
No posts yet When you share photos and videos, they'll appear here.
Nothing here yet Follow people to see their posts in your feed.
Don't
No content found.
You have not posted any items.
This section is empty because you have not created any content.
Error messages
Plain language. Say what happened, then what to do. Never blame the user.
Do
Something went wrong. Try again.
This username is already taken.
Photo couldn't be uploaded — check your connection.
Don't
Error 422: Unprocessable entity
You entered an invalid password
Upload failed due to network connectivity issues
Confirmations & toasts
Past tense, confirming the completed action. No punctuation for toasts. Three words maximum.
Do
Saved
Post deleted
Reported
Link copied
Don't
Your post has been successfully deleted!
The link has been copied to your clipboard.
Saved successfully.
Onboarding & permission prompts
Explain the benefit first, then the ask. Never mention technical terms like 'access' or 'permission'.
Do
See friends' stories Instagram will use your location to show nearby events.
Turn on notifications Get notified when people comment on your posts.
Don't
Instagram requires access to your location
Grant camera permissions to continue
Follow / action CTA
State label matches the current state, not the future action. The transition is the feedback.
Do
Follow → Following (after tap)
Like → Liked (filled heart)
Save → Saved (filled bookmark)
Don't
Unfollow → showing 'Unfollow' as the resting state label
Following → 'Click to unfollow'
Formatting
Punctuation, numbers & casing
Instagram's formatting rules are mostly invisible when followed — they only become visible when violated.
Sentence case everywhere
Instagram uses sentence case for UI strings — not Title Case. 'Edit profile' not 'Edit Profile'. Exception: proper nouns.
Minimal punctuation
Button labels and short toasts: no end punctuation. Sentence-length copy: punctuate normally. Never use semicolons in product copy.
Numbers as numerals
Always '3 posts', never 'three posts'. Abbreviate above 999: 1K, 2.4M, 1.1B — no decimal for round thousands (1K not 1.0K).
@ mentions are inline
@username runs directly into the sentence. 'Liked by @juliannekim and 14 others.' — no space before the @ and no parentheses.
Hashtags use no space
#reels runs into the sentence without a preceding space if it's mid-sentence. Use as nouns, not verbs.
Emoji are optional, not required
Use emoji in celebration, onboarding, and brand moments. Never in error states, permission prompts, or navigation.
Inclusive number formatting
'3 likes', not '3 like'. Use plural for all counts except 1 ('1 post', '2 posts'). This includes 0: '0 posts' not '0 post'.
Do
- Use sentence case — 'Edit profile', 'Add to story', 'Manage subscriptions' — not title-cased.
- Let the action be the confirmation — After a like tap, the icon fills and a count increments. No toast needed — the icon change IS the feedback.
- Name what's missing in empty states — 'No posts yet' tells the user what the surface is for. 'Nothing here' doesn't.
- Abbreviate large numbers — '1.2M followers' — not '1,200,000 followers'. Match the format Instagram uses in production.
Don’t
- Don't show error codes — No code 500, no HTTP status, no technical identifiers in user-facing strings. Plain language only.
- Don't use passive voice — 'Your post was deleted' reads as system language. 'Post deleted' is the Instagram register.
- Don't add filler words to buttons — 'Post' not 'Post now'. 'Share' not 'Share this'. Every extra word dilutes the action.
- Don't use Title Case for UI labels — Instagram UI strings are in sentence case. 'Edit Profile' and 'Share To Story' look incorrect in this system.