You Can Now Upload Photos to Instagram Without the Mobile App
It is no longer necessary to have the Instagram mobile app to upload photos or videos to Instagram. However, before you get too excited, you should know that you cannot upload photos from your desktop to Instagram.
The big news from Instagram today is that you are no longer required to download the Instagram mobile app before you can upload images or videos to your profile. Be careful before you get your hopes up, you still cannot upload photos to Instagram from your computer. It is possible, however, to post directly to Instagram from the web by using Instagram’s newly updated mobile website.
Are you wondering how to post to Instagram from your PC or Mac? We explain it all in this post.
How to Upload to Instagram From Web (Mobile Web, that is):
Step #1: Open the Instagram app from your mobile browser – both Safari and Google Chrome worked for us. We tested both and both of them worked fine! The first thing you will notice is that there is a button to open the page in the Instagram app. You can just ignore it or “x” it out.
Step #2: You will need to click the camera icon in the bottom center, just as you would if you were using the mobile app. In the “more” section, you will have the option to take a photo, upload one from your computer’s photo library, or access a storage service such as Dropbox.
Step #3: Select the photo you want to use! Afterward, you will be taken to a page where you are able to crop or rotate your photograph. When you look at the website, you will note that there is no option to add a filter or edit your photos, as there is in the app. To continue, click next.
Step #4: You are now ready to write your Instagram caption! Additionally, when you upload to Instagram from the web, you have fewer options than if you uploaded from the app. You cannot tag anyone in your pictures or add a location, nor do hashtags automatically appear.
Step #5: Once you click the “Share” button, your photo or video will be posted to Instagram right away!
There is no doubt that Instagram’s native app offers a better experience than its mobile web portal, however the mobile web interface has come a long way since it was launched and actually feels quite similar to the native Instagram experience, especially the home feed.
What is the reason why you would want to upload to Instagram from your phone’s web browser rather than using the native Instagram app? You probably won’t want to do this if you have an iPhone or an Android. In fact, my mother still has a Blackberry, so she can only use Instagram on her iPad because she still has a Blackberry. Nevertheless, I expect more adorable Mom comments to stream in now that the mobile version of Instagram is becoming more popular, and my daughter is becoming more active on the app.
In addition, Instagram’s new mobile website will work on any mobile device, either a smartphone or tablet, which will only increase the reach of Instagram, especially in countries where owning an iPhone is a great luxury. As Instagram becomes increasingly global, being able to post from any web-enabled device is of utmost importance for it to become an accessible platform to everyone (and for them to be able to upload selfies too!). Could we expect to see Instagram uploads from the desktop soon? Perhaps this might be the first step towards this happening.
You can sign up for Later if you love posting to Instagram from your PC or Mac! Your photos can all be uploaded directly from your desktop, your captions can be typed on your computer, and you can schedule when to post them.
When you use Later with the mobile app, you will receive a push notification, which is a notification that your photo is ready to post and later, it will automatically post it on to Instagram and copy your caption for you. In order to paste your caption, you simply need to open the push notification, press “paste”, and voila! As a result, you’ve been able to post directly to Instagram without having to send any photos back and forth from your phone.
