Design
Instagram
Design Instagram — a photo/video sharing social network with feeds, stories, explore, direct messages, and influencer-scale follower graphs.
This is a Low-Level Design (LLD) problem. New to LLD vs HLD? Start here.
01 - Why interviewers ask this
It combines media storage at scale with a ranked feed — interviewers use it to see if candidates distinguish "store the photo" from "decide what shows up in whose feed and why".
02 - Where this system exists in the real world
You interact with this design every day.
Instagram / Pinterest-style media-sharing platforms
Photo/video CDN delivery systems
Influencer marketing and content platforms
03 - What you'll master
Solve this once. Know it forever.
Design media upload, storage, and CDN delivery
Rank and paginate a personalized feed
Model follows, likes, and comments at scale
04 - What you'll design
7 functional · 5 non-functional requirements.
Upload photos and videos with captions, tags, and location
6 more requirements inside
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05 - Companies that ask this
You may face this exact question in your next interview.
Ready?
Open the canvas.
Design it yourself.
See all requirements, use staged hints, run your code, and compare with community discussions - all on the same canvas.