While it works much better as a mobile app, it’s perfectly possible to upload to Instagram from a desktop PC or laptop.
Posting your photos and videos straight from your smartphone to Instagram is nice and easy using the mobile app. However, occasionally you may want to edit your pics and footage on your computer before you upload, to sort out any issues or simply improve the overall quality.
Unfortunately the Instagram website is, to put it bluntly, not particularly good. You can login to your account and check out your notifications and past posts, while also browsing your timeline. However, there’s currently no way to upload fresh content through that desktop site.
Not unless you cheat a bit, that is. Here’s how to post to your profile from a laptop or desktop PC rather than a smartphone, by fooling the website into thinking it’s being checked out on a smartphone.
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How to post to Instagram in Google Chrome
- First you’ll need to head to the Instagram site and login to your account.
- Next, right click on a blank bit of the website and hit ‘Inspect’ in the menu that pops up. A slightly terrifying new thing will flash into life on the right side of the browser window, displaying all of the HTML code. Don’t worry, you won’t have to enter any JavaScript or anything like that – this process is pretty simple.
- Now we need to swap to the mobile version of the Instagram website. At the top of that Inspect frame, you’ll see a toolbar with various options – Elements, Console, Sources and so on. To the far left of this toolbar are two icons. You need to click on the second, which looks like a phone stood in front of a tablet. The label ‘toggle device toolbar’ will appear if you hover your cursor over it. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Shift + M simultaneously. Either way, the Instagram desktop website will be replaced with the narrow smartphone version.
- You should now see a row of icons appear at the bottom of the website. If this row of icons doesn’t immediately appear, you’ll just need to refresh the page (Ctrl + R does the job). Hit the plus icon in the middle and you can upload a pic or video to Instagram, straight from your PC.
Related: How to delete or deactivate your Instagram account
How to post to Instagram in Edge
- Open the Instagram website and login with your details.
- Now, click the settings icon in the top right corner of the Edge browser (this looks like three horizontal dots). In the drop-down menu, go to ‘More tools’ and then ‘Developer tools’. The entire right side of the browser will now be taken up by an HTML frame.
- At the top of that frame you’ll see a toolbar. To the right of the ‘Memory’ option is a downwards-facing arrow. Click that to reveal more options and click the ‘Emulation’ setting.
- In here you can choose a device to emulate. Choose a smartphone such as the iPhone, and the Instagram website will change to the mobile version.
- A row of icons should now appear at the bottom of the website. Hit the plus icon in the middle to upload your content to Instagram. You may have to refresh the site once before this row appears.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
