The Specific Moment We Decided Instaustad Needed an Editorial Policy

It started with a draft. We were about to publish advice on how Instagram's caption limits work, relying on what we "knew" rather than what we could prove.

We caught ourselves just before hitting publish. The advice wasn't necessarily wrong, but we hadn't actually verified it against official documentation or tested it rigorously. That was the moment we realized that "good enough" content simply wasn't good enough for a site that claims to be careful, transparent, and respectful of the user.

What the editorial policy actually requires

Our editorial policy isn't a complex legal document. It's a set of hard rules we set for ourselves. First, we must source information from official documentation whenever possible. If the platform doesn't explicitly state something, we must test specific claims ourselves before presenting them as fact.

Second, we must acknowledge uncertainty. If we don't know something for sure, we say so. We don't guess and present it as expertise. Finally, when we make mistakes — and we will — we correct them publicly and clearly, not through silent edits.

Why having a written standard matters

You might wonder why a small utility site needs an editorial policy at all. The reason is simple: temptation. The temptation to publish quickly, to cut corners, or to prioritize search engine rankings over factual accuracy is always present.

A written standard holds us accountable. It gives us a framework to check our work against, and it gives you, the user, a baseline expectation of what you'll find here. This policy applies across the board — to our blog posts, the descriptions of our tools, and even our error messages.

The honest admission

Having a policy doesn't guarantee we'll never get something wrong. We are human, and the platform we build tools for changes constantly. But having this framework makes getting things wrong less likely, and it ensures that when we do, we handle it the right way.