If you are building anything that publishes to social networks — a scheduler, an internal tool, an agent — the code is not the hard part. The approvals are. This is what each platform actually asks for, and roughly how long it takes.
Requirements change and this is a snapshot, taken August 2026. Treat the shape as durable and re-check the specifics before you plan a launch around a date.
The four that need nothing
Start here if you want something publishing this week.
- Bluesky. An app password from your own account settings. AT Protocol, no review, no developer programme. Minutes.
- Telegram. A bot token from BotFather, and the bot added to your channel as an administrator. Minutes.
- Discord. A webhook URL from a server you administer. Minutes.
- WordPress. An application password on your own site, self-hosted or WordPress.com. Minutes.
The pattern: these are all cases where you already hold the authority. There is nobody to ask, because the thing you are authenticating against is yours.
The ones with a queue
Meta — Instagram, Facebook, Threads
You need a Meta app, App Review for the publishing permissions, and Business Verification, which means submitting company documents. Business Verification alone commonly runs one to four weeks and is the step people underestimate, because it is a documents-and-humans process rather than a technical one.
Constraints worth knowing before you start: Instagram publishing requires a Business or Creator account linked to a Page — there is no API path to a personal account, for anyone. Facebook allows Pages only, never personal profiles. Threads publishing hangs off the linked Instagram account.
TikTok
The Content Posting API requires an audit. Until you pass it, posts made through the API are restricted to private visibility — which means an unaudited integration technically works and is also useless, a distinction that has surprised a lot of people mid-build. Budget weeks.
Posting to a member's own profile is the straightforward case. Company Pages need the Community Management API, which is a partner application with a review attached. Weeks.
YouTube
The Data API works immediately, but uploads consume quota aggressively — a single upload is expensive against the default daily allocation. Anything doing real volume needs a quota extension, which is a form and a wait.
X
Posting requires a paid API tier. This is a budget line rather than a review queue, but it is a budget line that starts around $100–200 a month and it catches people who assumed a free tier would cover a scheduler.
Pinterest and Reddit
Standard developer app registration. Days rather than weeks, and no partner programme to get into. Reddit's practical constraint is per-subreddit: each has its own rules and rate limits, and a rejection there is a subreddit decision rather than a platform one.
Snapchat
Publishing runs through Snap's Creative and Public Profile APIs and needs an approved app. Treat it as a weeks-long review.
The planning mistake
Almost everyone sequences this wrong. The instinct is to build the integration, then apply. The applications are the long pole and they run in parallel with everything else, so they should start on day one — before the code, before the design, before you know whether the product works.
The second mistake is assuming an aggregator removes the problem. Several providers will handle nine or ten networks through one API, which genuinely saves you writing nine integrations. Read carefully whether they supply the platform credentials or expect you to bring your own — “bring your own developer credentials” means you still do every review, and you find that out after signing up.
A sensible order
- Today: start Meta business verification and the TikTok audit. They are mostly waiting.
- This week: ship Bluesky, Telegram, Discord and WordPress. They need no approval, so they turn “cannot post” into “posts” immediately and give you something real to test the queue against.
- Next: Pinterest and Reddit, which are quick.
- When budget allows: X.
- As approvals land: the Meta family, TikTok, LinkedIn Pages, YouTube quota.
PostWharf publishes to Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky and Telegram today — Bluesky and Telegram you connect with your own credentials in about two minutes, and the rest need no application from you at all. Reddit, Discord, Snapchat and WordPress are listed with their own pages and can be requested from Channels.
Common questions
Which social networks let you publish through their API without an approval process?
Four need nothing beyond a credential you create yourself. The rest run some form of review, from Meta business verification to the TikTok content-posting audit and LinkedIn partner review.
How long does social API approval take?
It varies by platform and is measured in weeks rather than days for the reviewed ones. The planning mistake is treating approval as a step that starts after building, rather than one that runs alongside it.
Do I need my own developer app for each network?
Only if you are building the integration yourself. A tool that already holds the platform relationship files the review once, so you sign in and pick the account instead.
PostWharf is priced per workspace rather than per connected channel, and every plan carries unlimited channels. See per-brand pricing.