Big Instagram news today: for the first time ever, you no longer need to have the Instagram mobile app in order to upload photos or videos. But before you get your hopes up, you still can’t upload photos to Instagram from your desktop. What you can do, though, is utilize Instagram’s newly updated mobile website to post to Instagram from web.
Wondering how to post to Instagram from your PC or Mac? We explain it all in our post here.
How to Upload to Instagram From Web (Mobile Web, that is):
Step #1: Visit instagram.com from your mobile browser – we tested both Safari and Google Chrome and both of them worked fine! You’ll notice a button to open the page in the Instagram app, but you can just ignore it or “x” out of it.
Step #2: Click the camera button in the bottom centre, just like you would in the mobile app. You are then prompted to either take a photo, upload one from your photo library, or access a storage service like Dropbox under “more.”
Step #3: Choose your photo! You are then taken to a page where you can crop or rotate your photo. You’ll notice that there isn’t the ability to add a filter or edit your photo, like there is in the app. Click next.
Step #4: Now you can write your Instagram caption! Again, uploading to Instagram from web is more limited than the Instagram app, as you can’t tag anyone or add a location, and Instagram hashtags don’t auto-generate for you.
Step #5: Click “Share” and your photo or video will be posted to Instagram!
Obviously, the experience is a lot better on the native Instagram app, but the mobile web view has come a long way and actually feels very similar to the native Instagram experience, especially the home feed.
So, why would you want to upload to Instagram from web on your phone instead of using the native Instagram app? If you have an iPhone or an Android, you probably don’t want to. But my mom still has a Blackberry, so she is limited to using Instagram only on her iPad. But with the new mobile web, I’m expecting more adorable Mom comments on a regular basis as she becomes a more active Instagram user.
The new Instagram mobile website works on any mobile device or tablet, which will only expand Instagram’s reach, especially in countries where owning an iPhone is an extreme luxury. As Instagram becomes more and more global, being able to post from any device on the web is key to giving everyone the ability to use the platform (and post selfies!). Could we see uploads to Instagram from desktop soon? This might be a step towards that direction.
If you love the idea of posting to Instagram from your PC or Mac, you can sign up for Later! You can upload all of your photos directly from your desktop, type your captions on your computer, and then schedule them for when you want to post.
Later works with our mobile app, which sends you a push notification when it’s time to post and automatically pulls in your photo to Instagram for you and copies your caption. All you have to do is open the push notification, press “paste” in the caption, and voila! You’ve just posted to Instagram without having to send any photos back and forth from your phone.
Sign up for Later now to upload Instagram photos from your desktop – it’s free!
Thanks to our Later community member Jaclyn Siu for sharing this new feature before anyone else!
