"Which post worked?" can only be answered in the Instagram app by opening posts one at a time. The tab puts all of your posts in one table with their metrics side by side, sorted by whichever column you choose. This guide explains every column, every sort order and why the list sometimes looks incomplete.
Posts
⚠️ Note: The metrics on this tab are lifetime totals, not period totals. The period picker above does not filter this list — a post published two years ago still sits here with its running totals.
In this article you will find:
Opening the tab and reading the header
The search box
The table's columns
Sorting
Posts awaiting metrics
Pagination
What the empty states mean
The table on phone and tablet
Common mistakes
Opening the tab and reading the header
Open My profile › Insights and switch to the Posts tab at the top. The heading still reads Insights; the description underneath is specific to this tab: "Meta metrics per post. Change the sorting to find the post with the widest reach or the most interactions."
Only the Refresh button sits to the right of the heading. There is no period picker on this tab, because post metrics are not filtered by period.
If the insights permission has not been approved yet, a yellow banner appears above the table.
The search box
A single search box sits above the table; its placeholder reads "Search in captions".
The search is live: the list narrows shortly after you stop typing. There is no confirm button.
It looks only at the post's caption. It does not look at comments, tags or metrics.
Matching is "contains" and is not case sensitive: typing sale also finds "20% SALE".
The search stays in the address bar, so you can share the list you found.
Changing the search returns you to page one; the sorting stays as it was.
A post with no caption never appears in search results; in the list its caption slot reads "No caption".
The table's columns
The table has nine columns. From left to right:
Post — The cover image (cropped to a 4:5 portrait) and the first line of the caption. Hover to see the whole caption; click to open the post analysis.
Date — The day the post was published, in the account's time zone. A dash appears if Meta gives no date.
Type — The kind of post: Photo, Video, Reels, Album, Story, or Post for a type we do not recognise.
Accounts reached (Reach on narrow screens) — The number of unique accounts that saw the post.
Views — How many times the post was shown. Equal to or higher than reach.
Total interactions (Interactions on narrow screens) — Likes, comments, shares and saves added together.
Likes — Likes the post received.
Comments — Comments written on the post.
Saves — How many times the post was saved.
At the far right of the row, on wide screens, sits an arrow button; it also opens the post's analysis.
In any number column a — means "Meta did not provide this metric", not zero. The Shares metric is not in this table; you will find it in the post analysis.
Sorting
Clicking a column heading sorts the list by that column. Seven columns can be sorted:
Date
Accounts reached
Views
Total interactions
Likes
Comments
Saves
Its rules are:
The default sort is Accounts reached, descending — so the widest-reaching post is at the top.
When you switch to a new column the direction becomes descending: looking at a new metric means "most" or "newest" first.
Clicking the active column's heading again flips the direction (descending ↔ ascending).
An arrow icon sits next to the active column; screen readers are also told the direction in words.
The sorting stays in the address bar, and your search and page number are preserved.
The Type and Post columns cannot be sorted.
💡 Your most-saved posts are usually your best content ideas: clicking the Saves heading and reading your top five posts is the fastest way to plan next month's content.
Posts awaiting metrics
You may see a yellow Awaiting metrics badge below a post's caption. It means the post's details (cover, caption, date) have arrived but its metrics have not been fetched yet.
The reason is the queue: post metrics are refreshed during the maintenance run, at most 12 posts per run. It is normal for a freshly published post to carry this badge for a while. The numbers fill in on their own when its turn comes.
Pagination
The table is paginated, with 20 posts per page.
Previous page and Next page buttons sit below the table.
A status line between them reads "248 posts · page 2/13".
The page number stays in the address bar, and sorting and search are preserved as you page through.
Changing the search or the sorting returns you to page one.
What the empty states mean
"There are no posts to show for this account." — Two possible reasons: the account genuinely has no feed posts, or the post list has not been fetched yet. The list comes from the cache behind the post picker in the automation editor; opening that picker once fills it.
An empty list after a search — Clear the search box; your keyword may not appear in any caption.
Every number is a dash — The insights permission may be pending, or the sync may not have arrived yet. Check the banner above and use the Refresh button.
Deleted posts never appear in the list.
The table on phone and tablet
On phones and tablets the table becomes a set of cards: each post gets its own box and the metrics stack as label-and-value rows. No metric is hidden.
In card mode the column headings are not visible, so sorting is offered as a strip of pills above the list. The same seven columns are chosen there, with the direction shown by an arrow.
Between 1024 and 1280 pixels (narrow desktop) the Date and Type columns are hidden and their values move onto a single line below the caption. None of the metric columns is hidden.
In that band the date cannot be sorted from a heading; widen the window or use the pill strip from phone mode.
Long headings are shortened on narrow screens (Reach, Interactions); hover the heading to see the full name.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Trying to filter the post list by period. There is no period picker on this tab; post metrics are lifetime totals.
Expecting a new post's numbers immediately. If the Awaiting metrics badge is there, its turn has not come; Meta also lags by up to 48 hours.
Reading a dash as a zero. A dash means "no measurement arrived".
Mixing up reach and views. Reach counts unique people, views count impressions.
Looking for stories in the list. The list holds feed posts; stories are not here, and Meta only provides story metrics for a short while.
Searching for a tag or a person in the search box. The search looks only at captions.
Looking for a deleted post. Deleted posts drop out of the list, and their past metrics are not shown either.
If you cannot find a post, first clear the search box and set the sorting to Date. If the problem persists, see I cannot see the number I expected or contact our Support team.