Can’t Post on X (Twitter)? Character Limits, Media Limits and Other Fixes

Does this match what you see?

• The Post button doesn’t work or your text goes over the limit.
• X won’t let you attach another photo, GIF or video.
• You can browse but can’t post, like or repost.
• You can post from a browser but not from the app.
• You see “Whoops, you already said that.”

iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

Based on X Help Center “How to Post”, supplied by the site owner, October 31, 2026. Premium plans and limits can change.

Why this happens: the possible causes

Common reasons X won’t let you post.

• Post too longCheck this first

  X says posts can be up to 280 characters; with Premium and some X Subscription plans, up to 4,000 in the apps or 25,000 on x.com.

• Too much mediaCheck this first

  X says a post can include up to 4 media items in total.

• Account limitedPossible

  A limited account may not be able to post, or may only post from a desktop browser.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

“Whoops, you already said that” and other posting errors

• Hit a daily limit? X limits posts per day (split into half-hourly limits); X says try again in a few hours. See X’s daily limits.
• “Whoops, you already said that”: X says you recently posted exactly the same text. Change the wording and post again.
• “You can’t complete this action because this link has been identified by X or our partners as being potentially harmful”? X says the link is blocked, so it can’t be posted in a post, a Direct Message or your profile. X blocks or warns on links it treats as malware, phishing, spam or misleading (including deceptive URL shorteners), or that lead to content that breaks its rules.
• Link shows a warning when clicked? X says you can click through the warning if you want, but links with a warning also get limited visibility on X.
• Think your link was blocked by mistake? X says report it with its miscategorized-link form, and paste the full (expanded) URL, not a shortened one.
• X says accounts that try to get around a link block may face more enforcement, including suspension. Our advice: don’t re-post a blocked link through a shortener.
• Post won’t send at all? X says this is often fixed by updating: the latest version of your browser on the web, or the latest X app update. If you post through a third-party app, see connected apps.

Photo and GIF problems

• Adding photos: tap the post icon, then the camera icon for a new photo or the photo icon for an existing photo, video or GIF. With 2 or more photos, X says you can tap and hold to drag and reorder them before posting.
• Photo cropped? X says a single photo with a standard shape (between 2:1 and 3:4) shows in full, and what you see in the composer is what gets posted.
• Live Photo (iPhone): X says tap the GIF badge in the lower-left corner to share it as a GIF.
• GIFs: tap the GIF icon in the composer to search X’s GIF library. Can’t add a GIF with other images? X’s photos-and-GIFs page (desktop) says animated GIFs can’t be in posts with multiple images and you can add only one GIF per post, even though its How to Post page gives a mixed example (2 photos, 1 GIF and 1 video). Our tip: if it won’t attach, post the GIF on its own.
• Video Reply (desktop page): X says there’s a hands-free option to record up to 60 seconds.
• Can’t tag someone? X says tags can’t be added to animated GIFs. Tag people by tapping Tag people on a photo.
• Stickers and edits: in the iPhone and Android apps you can enhance, filter, crop and add up to 25 stickers. X says once you’ve posted a photo with stickers, you can’t edit the image, and you can’t edit stickers when reposting someone else’s photo.
• Wrong tag or photo? Remove it before posting (tap the tag and delete it, or the x on the thumbnail). X says you can’t remove tags once the photo is posted.

Still can’t post? Check your account

If X says your account is locked or its features are temporarily limited, you may not be able to post, or may only be able to post from a desktop browser. See X account locked or limited. If x.com itself won’t work, see x.com not working.

What the label under a post means

Open a post to see its source label at the bottom, such as X for iPhone, X for Android or X for Web.

• X for Advertisers: X says it was made with the X Ads Composer; it doesn’t tell you if it’s paid. Paid posts carry a Promoted badge.
• A third-party app name: X says the post came from a non-X app, which authors use to manage posts or marketing, and the app isn’t affiliated with the post’s content. Such posts can be written by people or, sometimes, automated.

Deleting posts

X says you can only delete your own posts. Our tip: for other accounts’ posts you don’t want to see, unfollow, mute or block them, or report a post that breaks the rules.

• iPhone: tap your profile icon > Profile, find the post, tap the more icon at the top of it > Delete post > Delete.
• Android: tap the navigation menu or profile icon > Profile, find the post, tap the more icon > Delete > Yes.
• x.com: go to your Profile, find the post, click the more icon > Delete post.
• A repost? Undo the repost instead; X says you can’t delete other accounts’ posts.

Deleting lots of posts

X says it doesn’t offer bulk delete; you can only delete posts one by one, and it doesn’t advise mass-deletion programs (they can also make your profile and post count look wrong; see old posts missing). For a fresh start while keeping your username, X suggests creating a new account with a temporary username and then swapping usernames between the two; see swap usernames.

What happens when you delete a post

• X says it’s removed from your account, your followers’ timelines and X search, and reposts of it are removed too. Its content, metadata and analytics are no longer public on X.
• X says posts by others who copied your text or quoted your post stay up.
• X says copies cached on other websites, apps or search engines may remain; X can only remove posts on x.com and its apps.

Reposts and quotes: undo, delete and prompts

• Repost: tap the Repost icon > Repost. Quote: tap the Repost icon > Repost as Quote, add your comment (and up to four photos, one GIF or a video), then Repost. X says the quoted post doesn’t count toward your character limit.
• Undo a repost: the Repost icon is highlighted on posts you’ve reposted; tap it > Undo Repost. X says it may still appear on mobile devices showing cached timelines, or where it was cross-posted to third-party sites.
• Delete a quote: treat it like your own post: more icon > Delete Post > Delete (iPhone and x.com), or Delete > Yes (Android).
• Asked to read an article first? X says if you haven’t opened an article recently on X, it may prompt you to read it before you repost or quote it. You can still repost without opening it.
• Original author not in the replies? X says replies to your quote don’t automatically include the original author; @mention them if you want them in the conversation.
• Can’t repost someone? Their posts may be protected; see protected posts.

Keyboard shortcuts on x.com

• n new post, r reply, l like, t repost, m Direct Message, / search, Cmd+Enter or Ctrl+Enter send a post.
• j / k next or previous post, . load new posts, ? full shortcut list.
• g then h Home, n Notifications, m Direct Messages, p your profile, s Settings.

How to know it worked

• Our check: your post appears on your profile with all its text and media.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Can’t log in? See can’t log in to X.

Frequently asked questions