How to Stop Cross-Posting on Facebook to Instagram

Tired of your Instagram Reels and vibrant Stories automatically showing up on your Facebook profile where they feel out of place? You're not alone. If you're ready to take back control and give each platform the unique attention it deserves, you're in the right place. This guide will walk you through exactly how to stop cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram (and vice versa) and, more importantly, explain why this is one of the smartest moves you can make for your brand today.

Why You Should Stop Cross-Posting Between Facebook and Instagram

Connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts feels efficient at first. One post, two platforms. But this convenience often comes at the cost of engagement and brand authenticity. Treating these two distinct platforms as one is a common mistake that can dilute your content's impact. Here’s why separating your strategies is a game-changer.

Different Platforms, Different Audiences, Different Vibes

Think about why you use each platform. You likely head to Facebook to see what friends and family are up to, get updates from local groups, and read articles. The energy is conversational and communal. Now think about Instagram. It’s a visual-first world of inspiration, entertainment, and aesthetics. You scroll through Reels for a quick laugh, get inspired by beautiful photos in your feed, and tap through interactive Stories.

Your audience behaves the same way. The casual, text-heavy update that performs well on Facebook can feel clunky and out of place on Instagram’s polished, visual grid. Likewise, an artsy, caption-light Instagram post might get lost in the noise of a busy Facebook feed. By cross-posting, you’re essentially speaking the same language to two different rooms full of people who expect different conversations.

Each Platform Has Its Own Native Language

Beyond the audience's vibe, each platform has its own set of tools and formats that are rewarded by its algorithm. Automated cross-posting often fails to optimize for these native features.

• Hashtags: A post with 20 relevant hashtags is an effective strategy on Instagram to increase discoverability. On Facebook, that same block of hashtags looks like spam and can actually harm your reach.
• Captions: Instagram captions can be an art form - long-form storytelling, short witty quips, or just a few emojis. On the other hand, Facebook posts often benefit from clear calls-to-action with links, which don't work in Instagram feed captions. An auto-shared post with a "Link in bio!" call-to-action makes no sense when the link is right there and clickable on Facebook.
• Tagging: You might tag a business page on Facebook, but that tag won’t automatically resolve to the correct Instagram handle when cross-posted. This leads to broken tags and missed opportunities for collaboration.
• Formats: A vertical 9:16 Reel is the native language of Instagram. When that same video gets automatically pushed to your Facebook feed, it often appears with awkward black bars or gets cropped in an unintended way, creating a jarring user experience.

Posting natively, or using a tool that properly optimizes for each platform, allows you to speak the language of the platform. The algorithms notice and reward content that feels like it was made specifically for their users.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Disconnecting Your Accounts

Ready to break the link? The good news is that Meta makes this process fairly straightforward through its Accounts Center. You can do this from either the Facebook or Instagram app. We’ll cover both methods here.

Method 1: How to Stop Cross-Posting from the Instagram App

This is arguably the most common way people manage the connection. Follow these simple steps on your mobile device.

1. Open Your Instagram Profile: Launch the Instagram app and tap on your profile picture in the bottom-right corner to go to your profile page.
2. Access the Settings Menu: Tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) in the top-right corner. This will open a pop-up menu.
3. Go to Accounts Center: At the very top of this menu, you'll see "Settings and privacy." Tap on it. In the new screen, "Accounts Center" will be the first and largest option at the top. Tap it to proceed.
4. Find "Sharing Across Profiles": Inside the Accounts Center, you’ll see several options under "Account Settings." Look for a section called "Connected experiences" and tap on "Sharing across profiles."
5. Select the Profile to Manage: You'll now see a list of the profiles linked in your Accounts Center (e.g., your Facebook profile and your Instagram profile). Tap on the account you want to stop sharing from. For example, if you want to stop your Instagram posts from going to Facebook, tap on your Instagram profile.
6. Disable Automatic Sharing: You will now see the "Automatically share" settings. There will be separate toggles for "Your Instagram stories" and "Your Instagram posts." Tap the toggle next to each one you want to turn off. The toggle will turn from blue to gray.

That's it! Your Instagram Stories and posts will no longer be automatically cross-posted to your Facebook account. You can repeat the process for your Facebook profile if you also had sharing enabled from that direction.

Method 2: How to Stop Cross-Posting from the Facebook App

If you prefer to work from Facebook, the process is very similar because it sends you to the same Accounts Center.

1. Open the Facebook Menu: Launch the Facebook app and tap on your profile picture and the three horizontal lines (the Menu) in the bottom-right corner (iOS) or top-right corner (Android).
2. Navigate to Settings: On the Menu screen, scroll down and tap on "Settings & Privacy," then tap on "Settings."
3. Open the Accounts Center: Just like with Instagram, the "Accounts Center" will be the big, primary box at the very top of the Settings screen. Tap on it.
4. Follow the Same Steps as Above: From this point on, the steps are identical to the Instagram method.
   • Tap on "Sharing across profiles" under "Connected experiences."
   • Select the Facebook profile you want to stop sharing content from.
   • Find the "Automatically share" toggles for "Your Facebook story" and "Your Facebook posts," and tap to turn them off.

Once you’ve toggled these options off, the automatic connection is severed. You now have the freedom to post unique content to each platform.

Okay, I'm Disconnected. Now What?

Disconnecting your accounts is the first step. The next step is to build a healthier, more effective social media workflow. Breaking up with cross-posting doesn’t mean creating twice the work, it means working smarter to create more impactful content.

Develop a Simple, Platform-Specific Strategy

You don't need a complicated 50-page document. Just start by defining the primary goal of each platform for your brand.

• For Instagram, Focus On:
  • Brand Building & Aesthetics: Use your feed grid to build a strong visual identity. High-quality photos, carousels, and well-designed graphics shine here.
  • Entertainment & Connection: Go all-in on Reels. It's the #1 format for reaching new audiences on the platform. Use Stories for behind-the-scenes content, Q&As, polls, and driving connection with your current followers.
  • Community Building: Engage deeply in your comments and DMs. Your most loyal fans live here.
• For Facebook, Focus On:
  • Traffic & Information: Facebook is fantastic for sharing links. Post links back to your blog, products, or website.
  • Community Engagement: Facebook Groups are incredibly powerful. Fostering a community in your own group or participating in other relevant groups is a great way to build authority.
  • Events & Updates: Promoting events, sharing company news, or posting text-based updates are all highly effective on Facebook.

Repurpose Content, Don't Just Repost It

You can absolutely use the same core concept across both platforms. The trick is to adapt it to fit the platform's format and style.

• Blog Post Example: Share the link to the blog post directly in a Facebook post with a key takeaway in the caption. For Instagram, turn the blog's main points into a thumb-stopping carousel infographic. Then, create a short Reel summarizing the single biggest idea from the post. One idea, three native pieces of content.
• Video Example: If you record a long-form video for YouTube, you can post the full version to Facebook. Then, pull out several 30-60 second vertical clips from that video to use as Reels on Instagram. Same source material, different presentation.

Final Thoughts

Disconnecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts is a tactical decision that serves a much bigger strategy. It’s about meeting your audience where they are and speaking their language, which will always lead to better engagement, stronger community, and more authentic brand growth in the long run.

Of course, managing separate platform strategies can feel like more work at first. That's why having a clean, simple hub for your content is so important. We actually built Postbase because we were tired of legacy tools that treat modern content mediums like Reels and short-form video as an afterthought. You can plan your content visually on one calendar, customize captions and formats for each platform, and trust that it will go out reliably without ever dealing with clunky workflows or broken connections.