Research shows best time to upload Instagram photos

Admit it: we feel a certain sense of fulfillment when our Instagram posts garner a reasonable number of likes.

Aside from a person’s number of followers on the social platform, it seems that consistently collecting those addictive heart icons, actually has some science into it.

A recent research conducted by Instagram post-scheduling app Hopper HQ revealed that the number of engagement a post receives heightens in the evening between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Weekend photos posted around 11 a.m. proved to be received by more users as well, Esquire UK reported.

After gathering data from over 1.2 million scheduled posts, the researchers noted that the uptick came about, considering it is the time when most people are using the app.

The findings, of course, vary depending on each follower’s demographics—including time zone differences and irregular work schedules.

The data also revealed which types of post perform better, with travel photos receiving 22 percent more likes than other images. Photos displaying pets and other animals ranked in at a close second.