August 2026

Sprout Social's release notes are a great way to keep up-to-date and make the most out of new feature functionality released in the Sprout platform.

Get a breakdown of new features and updates below. Each section gives you a quick sneak peek of the update and what it can bring to your social team.

Released this month

• August 20, 2026 - TikTok Photo Publishing
• August 20, 2026 - Listening: Expanded Data Coverage
• August 11, 2026 - Updated Tag Performance Report
• August 7, 2026 - Instagram Liking
• August 5, 2026 - Trending Audio for Instagram Reels in Compose
• August 3, 2026 - Add up to 5 Instagram Collaborators in Compose
• August 3, 2026 - Listening Demographics Tab Deprecation 

August 20, 2026

Take your TikTok Publishing Strategy further with Photo Posts! 

You can now schedule and publish photo posts to TikTok directly from Sprout Social! This allows you to manage your entire TikTok content strategy — both video and photo — in one place, giving you a more complete view of your publishing calendar and more flexibility in the types of content you create.

Photo posts are available on all Sprout plans across web and mobile, as well as through the Sprout Public API. Check out this article for more information on creating TikTok photo posts in Sprout! 

August 20, 2026

Listening: Expanded Web Coverage

We've upgraded the web data source powering your Listening Topics. Sprout Social now uses an enhanced web data feed to collect blog posts, news articles, and other web content for the Web source in Listening. This change delivers faster discovery of new content, higher-quality sources, and more complete data capture across the web.

This transition happens automatically, there is no action required on your part. Your existing Listening Topics that include Web as a source will begin receiving data from the new feed seamlessly. Historical web data already collected in your Topics will remain accessible.

Because the underlying set of web sources has changed, you may notice some differences in the specific websites being collected. The new data feed covers a broader and higher-quality set of sources overall, though a small number of previously tracked websites may no longer be included. If you rely on a specific web source that is no longer appearing in your Topic, please contact Support so we can investigate adding it to the new data pool.

August 11, 2026

Updated Tag Performance Report with Bluesky + Threads

The Tag Performance Report just got an upgrade — now with Threads and Bluesky support and faster, more consistent analytics!

The report retains the same structure with improved widgets, updated data visualization and new metrics. The following updates are included:

• Each widget now focuses on just one data type: published posts, sent messages or received messages.
• You can now select to show additional data tables for every chart widget.
• The Tags tab now includes new engagement and publishing behavior metrics. 
• For Premium Analytics users, this report now supports Custom Metrics and additional impressions, engagements, and video metrics in the Post Performance and Tagged Post Summary widgets.

Action Required: Any Scheduled Deliveries or Shared Links created from the legacy version of this report will expire on 10/14/26. To keep reporting running without interruption, re-create any Scheduled Deliveries or Shared Links using the updated Tag Performance Report before this date.

Check out this article for more information.

August 7, 2026

Instagram Liking

You can now like Instagram comments received on your own content directly within Sprout's Smart Inbox! No more switching to native Instagram to acknowledge and engage with your audience.

When viewing messages in the Smart Inbox, you'll see a heart icon available on Instagram comments received on your own posts, as well as Direct Messages and Story Mentions. Tap the like icon to instantly like the content, or tap again to unlike. 

To use this feature, you'll need to reconnect your Instagram Business or Creator profile in Sprout to grant the updated permissions. Once reconnected, the Like action will appear automatically in the Smart Inbox for eligible content.

Please note: Liking is not available for content from private accounts or on posts owned by another profile (ie you are not able to like @mentions of your profile) Learn more here. 

August 5, 2026

Add Trending Audio to your Instagram Reels in Sprout!

On high-volume video platforms like Instagram, audio isn't just background noise — it's a discovery tool. We’re excited to announce that you can now add trending audio to your Instagram Reels directly from Sprout's Compose window!

Browse Instagram's Commercial Music library or search Original Audio to find the perfect track, preview it, adjust volume levels, and attach it to your Reel — all without leaving Sprout.

Check out this article for more information on utilizing this feature with your publishing strategy!

August 3, 2026

Add More Instagram Collaborators in Compose

Teamwork makes the dream work, and now your Instagram posts can reflect that. Previously limited to 3 collaborators, you can now invite up to 5 collaborator profiles per post in Sprout, matching the native experience in Instagram. 

Whether you’re tagging brand partners or influencers, you now have more flexibility to amplify your reach and give credit where it’s due. Check out this article for more information.

August 3, 2026

Listening Demographics Tab Deprecation

Starting August 3, 2026, the Demographics tab has been removed from all current and future Listening Topics.

In early 2026, X removed message-level location data from its API. As a result, the Locations Map and Locations Overview widgets within Listening Topics have shown little to no data since. Due to the fact that no other supported social network currently provides message-level location data at scale, Sprout has made the decision to remove this tab in Listening.

What's changed

• The Demographics tab in Listening Topics has been removed as of August 3, 2026
• The Locations Map and Locations Overview widgets previously available in this tab  were removed with no replacement. 
• Profile Overview has moved to the Conversation tab, where it remains fully functional.

Please note: this change affects all Listening customers with Topics access and is not unique to Sprout; it reflects an industry-wide API limitation affecting all social listening vendors. Check out this article for more information.