How do I post TikTok photo posts?

Sprout Social supports publishing photo posts to TikTok alongside your video publishing workflows. TikTok photo posts let you share up to 35 still images in a single post — often called a "photo carousel" — directly from Sprout's Compose window. 

You can compose, schedule, and manage TikTok photo posts the same way you do video posts, with a few photo-specific options available to customize your content. 

This feature is available on all Sprout plans for both TikTok Business and Creator profiles.

What You Can Do

• Publish photo posts containing 1–35 images to TikTok from the Sprout Compose window
• Add a caption (up to 4,000 characters) and an optional title (up to 90 characters) to your photo post
• Select a cover image from your uploaded photos using the cover image index picker
• Toggle the "auto add music" option to let TikTok automatically add background music to your photo post
• Enable or disable comments on your photo post
• Publish immediately, schedule for a specific date and time, or add to the Sprout Queue
• Assign a Mobile Publisher to use the mobile publishing workflow — you will receive a push notification reminder on your phone and complete the post in the native TikTok app
• View your published TikTok photo posts on the Sprout Publishing Calendar
• Use the Sprout Public API to create TikTok photo post drafts programmatically

How to Use

To publish a TikTok photo post from Sprout:

1. Open the Compose window and select one or more TikTok profiles.
2. Upload your images. You can attach 1–35 images per post. Supported formats are JPG, JPEG, and WebP, with a maximum file size of 20 MB per image and a maximum resolution of 1080×1920 or 1920×1080 pixels.
3. Write your caption (up to 4,000 characters). Optionally, add a title (up to 90 characters).
4. Configure your TikTok photo post options:
   • Cover image: Choose which of your uploaded images should appear as the cover.
   • Auto add music: Toggle this on to let TikTok add background music automatically.
   • Allow comments: Choose whether viewers can comment on your post.
5. Choose when to publish: publish immediately, schedule for a specific date and time, or add to the Sprout Queue.
6. Optionally, select a Mobile Publisher to use the mobile workflow. The assigned publisher will receive a push notification at the scheduled time and complete the post in the native TikTok app.
7. Click Send or Schedule.

TikTok Photo Publishing FAQs

How many images can I include in a single TikTok photo post published from Sprout?

You can include 1–35 images in a single TikTok photo post. This matches the limit supported by TikTok's native app.

What image formats and sizes does TikTok accept for photo posts published from Sprout?

TikTok photo posts support JPG, JPEG, and WebP images. Each image can be up to 20 MB in size with a maximum resolution of 1080×1920 or 1920×1080 pixels.

Is the caption character limit for TikTok photo posts different from TikTok video posts?

Yes. TikTok photo posts support up to 4,000 characters in the caption, which is higher than the 2,000-character limit for video posts published via the API.

Can I publish a TikTok post that includes both photos and video in the same post?

No. TikTok does not support mixed media posts. A post must contain either all photos or a single video — you cannot combine photos and video in one post.

Can I use the mobile publishing workflow for TikTok photo posts the same way I do for TikTok video posts?

Yes. When you assign a Mobile Publisher to a TikTok photo post, the publisher will receive a push notification on the Sprout mobile app at the scheduled time. They can then review the post content, download the images, and complete the post in the native TikTok app — the same workflow used for video posts.

Do I need any special permissions to publish TikTok photo posts from Sprout?

No additional permissions are required beyond the existing Publishing permissions. If you can currently publish TikTok video posts from Sprout, you can publish photo posts as well.

What are the "Allow Duets" and "Allow Stitches" options — do they apply to TikTok photo posts?

No. The Duets and Stitches options apply only to TikTok video posts. For photo posts, the available options are Allow Comments, Auto Add Music, and Cover Image selection.

Will my TikTok photo posts show up on the Sprout Publishing Calendar and in reporting?

Yes. TikTok photo posts appear on the Publishing Calendar once published. They follow the same sent post attribution process as video posts — tags, campaigns, and activity history will be applied after the post is ingested back into Sprout.

Can I use the Sprout Public API to publish TikTok photo posts?

Yes. The Sprout Public API will accept TikTok photo posts using the same endpoint used for video posts, with the updated media attachment shape. This is gated by the same feature flag as the web composer.

Are there any rate limits on how many TikTok photo posts I can publish from Sprout?

Yes. TikTok enforces a rate limit of 6 posts per minute and 15 posts per day per TikTok account. These limits apply to both photo and video posts combined and are enforced by TikTok, not Sprout.

Can I add trending audio or TikTok creative tools (filters, stitch, duet, text overlay) to my photo post from Sprout?

No. These features are native to TikTok's app and are not available through TikTok's API. To use these creative tools, select a Mobile Publisher when composing your post — you will be redirected to the TikTok app to finalize your post with native tools.