Wondering if you can post to Instagram from desktop?
YES YOU CAN! Instagram enabled the Instagram Graph API on January 30,2018, which allowed scheduling IG posts for automated publishing.
This time-saving service only applies to business accounts, and only when you use one of their approved Marketing Partners.
Yes, there are workarounds that I’ll share, but be sure to check my cautions.
There are several ways to post to Instagram from PC or Mac:
- Schedule your posts and have them automatically published for you.
- Schedule your posts and get a reminder to post on your phone.
- Schedule your posts and have them posted for you via mobile devices or emulators.
- Post right on your desktop browser with an emulator.
- Post from your Chrome desktop browser using their Developer Tools.
Of these, the first group is definitely sanctioned by Instagram because they’re approved partners.
The second group should be OK with Instagram because you do the actual posting from your own device. Definitely OK if you’re using an approved partner without the direct publishing feature.
The third group is not sanctioned by Instagram and could get your account closed. DO NOT USE.
Browser posting might be okay with Instagram. I can’t guarantee it, though.
I’ll share more options if you just need to get stuff from your computer to your mobile device for posting.
Disclosure: I’m an affiliate for some of these products and may receive a referral fee if you purchase.
What are the best Instagram schedulers for PC and Mac?
No question about it – you MUST use an Instagram Marketing Partner to schedule your IG posts. Any of these that you like is the best for you.
These approved partners have enabled automatic posting to Instagram:
- Tailwind
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- Later
- Zoho Social
- Postcron
- Sendible
- Iconosquare
I provide details on these below.
Or, you can set up posts on your computer and have them sent with a reminder to your phone. You manually complete the post inside Instagram.
You can use the “reminder” method on business or non-business Instagram accounts.
Auto-posting with a non-approved service is not okay with Instagram and could get your account closed. Additionally, non-partner tools are using the old API that’s being phased out… so beware.
According to reader John Krootez:
The worst thing about all those apps is that now Instagram has some kind of a ban for ones that use third-party apps and services with their accounts. I think they fight mass-following and time-posting tools that help people organize and automate the growth of their accounts. They said using third-party would definitely put a negative effect on the ranking of such accounts on the recommended and hashtag feeds etc. Another reason, they say, the third-party provide lots of IG users’ personal information to the Big Data collecting companies.
Just say NO to apps that hack into the Instagram API.
Why Would You Want to Use One of These Instagram Tools?
Instagram was created as a share-the-moment social media network. Its intention was sharing moments as you’re experiencing them. But it’s evolved and expanded as new communities and marketers have come to love Instagram.
With these tools:
- Brands can keep a constant and cohesive presence.
- Photographers can easily post dSLR photos from their computer.
- Designers can use their favorite desktop tools and share on IG.
- Videographers can edit on desktop and share directly to Instagram.
- The visually creative can plan a kick-ass profile page.
The tools that include scheduling allow you to plan a consistent look to your account, as well as to post when you’re busy working – or even off-grid.
Many of these tools allow you to post even if you don’t own a smart device.
One recent feature of Instagram: Now you can open an account via instagram.com – no need for a smart device.
Instagram Scheduling Tools That Are Approved to Auto-Post
Schedule Instagram posts for your business account – and have them automatically published!
If you don’t want to (or can’t) use the auto-post feature, you can use one of these to send a notification when it’s time to post.
Reasons to use these tools:
- Automatically publish photo or video and caption to a business account.
- Get images and video from computer to your phone to manually post.
- Plan a constant and cohesive presence.
- Set a schedule and not forget when to post.
- Browser-based, or use the mobile app version.
- They’re approved Instagram / Facebook Partners!
Here are a few reasons why you might want to use these tools with notifications instead of auto-posting:
- You have a personal, not business, Instagram account.
- You want to post a multi-image or carousel post (not yet supported).
- You like to use Instagram filters.
- You simply prefer to post live.
Still, these tools are your best bet as they’re approved partners! They have access to the latest API and features, and won’t put your account at risk.
Tailwind App
Tailwind calls their service “The Most Intuitive Instagram Scheduler Available.” It serves up a lot of great features, including the incredible Hashtag Finder.
- Smart Schedule
- Automatically publish photo and caption to business account
- Bulk upload on desktop
- 9 grid preview
- Manage multiple Instagram accounts
- Hashtag Finder
- Easy regrams
This one really has everything you need – and they’re great people too! I 💜 Tailwind.
If you’d like to go in-depth to mastering Tailwind for Instagram, watch this video!
To sign up for a free Tailwind trial, click here. Cost after trial: $9.99 per month, paid annually.
• • • Try TailWind for FREE • • •
If you purchase a plan, I may receive a referral fee.
Why I Prefer Tailwind for Instagram Posting
There are a few Instagram Partners which will offer auto-publishing to Instagram. Why choose Tailwind?
- Tailwind knows visual marketing! They’re experts in Instagram and Pinterest.
- Tailwind is your best buy if you need a paid posting tool for Instagram only.
- Tailwind analytics rock – no upcharges to access valuable stats on your IG performance.
- Tailwind Smart Schedule posts when your audience is most engaged.
- Hashtag Finder! Save time and increase engagement with a perfect collection of hashtags.
- Finally, Tailwind is a small business of dedicated, hardworking folks like you and me. I love to support small business, don’t you?
Try Tailwind with the Smart Schedule and Hashtag Finder – schedule 30 posts for FREE!
• • • Click here to try Tailwind for Instagram FREE• • •
I’m an affiliate for Tailwind and will receive a referral fee if you purchase a paid plan.
Later
If you want a scheduler that posts to Facebook and Twitter in addition to Instagram, Later is a budget-friendly choice. You can get a plan for as low as $9 per month!
On the $19 plan, you’ll enjoy added features like hashtag suggestions, analytics, and best times to post.
Later even has a Free plan that includes autoposting, but you can’t schedule or post video or Stories on this plan.
Free is limited to 30 posts a month and email support only, but if it’s the only one that fits your (non-existent) budget, then learn more about Later here.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a full-featured social media management tool.
They’ve added Instagram scheduling to their lineup of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. As an Instagram partner, Hootsuite can post directly to Instagram.
Direct photo publishing is also supported on the Hootsuite mobile apps.
Hootsuite includes loads of helpful account management features. Watch the video below to see how you can easily follow and interact with targeted accounts, hashtags, and locations. Very useful – in addition to managing your own accounts.
To sign up for a free 30 day trial of Hootsuite Pro, click here. Current cost after trial: $29 a month billed annually, for 10 social profiles and unlimited scheduling with 1 user.
Hootsuite also offers a limited Free plan for 3 social profiles with a maximum 0f 30 scheduled messages.
Buffer
Buffer is a well-known social media scheduler that’s also an approved marketing partner with direct posting to Instagram.
Schedule single image and video posts on desktop or mobile to any of your Instagram business profiles, and Buffer will publish for you at your preferred times.
If you’d like to schedule gallery images, or use Instagram’s native posting features, like filters, they’ll send a notification to your phone at your scheduled time. Your post will be automatically loaded into Instagram with your pre-written caption, ready to be pasted, and you can customize and publish.
Measure the performance of your posts with Buffer’s key metrics. See how your audience is growing and how your followers are engaging with your content.
There’s no cropping tool in Buffer like there is in Tailwind, so if your image posts are not within Instagram’s 4:5 to 1.91:1 aspect ratio, they can’t be auto-published.
Yes, you can auto-publish to Instagram business accounts on the Free plan! The Pro plan is $15 per month, and the Premium plan jumps to $65/month.
Sign up or learn more about Buffer here.
Zoho Social
Zoho Social is a complete social media management platform for businesses and agencies. Manage multiple social channels, schedule unlimited posts, monitor keywords, and collaborate with your team—all from a single dashboard.
Direct publishing to Instagram is available in all the plans offered by Zoho Social, including the Free plan.
Check out the 15-day free trial of Zoho Social here.
PostCron
PostCron offers direct publishing to Instagram, as well as Facebook pages, Facebook groups, Facebook events, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Want to learn more, or sign up for their 7-day free trial? Click here.
Sendible
Start posting photos or videos directly to Instagram from Sendible, without having to use mobile app notifications!
You’ll be able to post directly to Instagram by setting up your Instagram Business Profile as a new service within Sendible. Note: Instagram currently only allows the following formats for direct scheduling: single photo (.JPG and .PNG files) or video (.MOV and .MP4 files).
To schedule carousel posts, meaning multiple photos or videos, you can continue to publish through the push-notification process with their mobile app.
Currently, the “Micro” plan is $29 billed monthly.
Learn more or sign up for a 30-day free trial of Sendible.
Iconosquare
Iconosquare is another Instagram Partner scheduling tool that’s enabled auto-publishing.
For a 14-day free trial, click here to try Iconosquare. This one is also $29 per month billed annually, or $39 on monthly billing.
IG Scheduling Tools That Send a Reminder to Your Phone
These tools aren’t smartphone-free solutions. They send a reminder to your mobile device at the time you scheduled your post. You still need a mobile device to complete the posting.
PromoRepublic
Need Instagram post ideas and a way to create them, in addition to a scheduler? PromoRepublic offers all 3.
Create stunning posts in seconds with 100,000+ handcrafted templates, ideas, and visuals.
It’s really a brilliant idea generator! You’ll never be at a loss for ideas. Every time I log in, I find graphics that I can’t resist to pop my logo on and schedule to either Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Spend an hour or two once a month, and check content creation and scheduling off your list!
To try PromoRepublic for free, click here.
• • • Try PromoRepublic for FREE • • •
If you purchase a plan, I may receive a referral fee.
ViralTag
Here’s a full-featured tool that lets you manage all your visual content in one place – not just for Instagram, but also Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Bulk upload and editing tools included.
- Create original content with their Canva integration.
- Customize your message, image dimensions, and posting time for each social network.
- Add multiple RSS feeds, Instagram, and Flickr accounts to curate content easily.
- Chrome extension to pick images from any site in an instant, and schedule them in bulk.
- “Recycling” feature that automatically recycles your top-performing evergreen content.
- Collaborate and plan your social media with your team on a shared marketing calendar.
- Organize your content from Dropbox, Google Drive, Flickr, and social media in your custom dashboard.
- Measure the success of your content with Viraltag website traffic and social analytics.
- Learn best times to post and which content drives more engagement.
This looks like a great tool and I hope to find time to give ViralTag a test run. Current cost after 14-day trial: $24 per month, and up.
• • • Try ViralTag for FREE • • •
If you purchase a plan, I may receive a referral fee.
CrowdFireApp
CrowdFireApp allows you to schedule Instagram photos at the best suggested time to get the most likes and engagement with your picture. Or choose to post immediately, or at a time you specify.
They suggest hashtags to use. You can “add all” hashtags, but most are irrelevant to your image, so don’t.
There’s also an app for iOS and Android to schedule via your phone. Free version available: maximum 10 posts per month and no support.
Socialdraft
Schedule posts to Instagram via the Socialdraft dashboard and you’ll receive an SMS (no additional mobile app needed).
Socialdraft puts all of your content for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn into one easy to read calendar.
Pro plan cost after 14-day trial: $19 per month. Plus, there’s a Free version allowing up to 50 posts per month.
Instagram Scheduling Tools That Post for You
I no longer suggest any tools that post for you, as Instagram has warned us not to use them.
There are plenty of scheduling tools listed above to choose from!
Instagram Tools That Post Directly from Desktop (No Scheduling)
These might be a lifesaver if you don’t own a smartphone or tablet. That said, these can tend to be buggy. But, they’re free, and are an option if you don’t have a smartphone.
Read on for a way to post directly from your Chrome browser!
NOTE: I can’t guarantee that these methods are sanctioned by Instagram.
BlueStacks
One way to run the mobile app on your computer is through software called BlueStacks. BlueStacks App Player lets you run your favorite mobile apps fullscreen in your browser and on PC. Since you’re running the mobile app, you can open a new account via BlueStacks.
BlueStacks is an emulator. You can give it a try, but I’ve heard it’s a bit quirky and requires some patience. However, it is free!
To upload a photo from your desktop, click the camera button, then select the polaroid icons in the lower-right of the app window. This will prompt you to select a photo from your drive. (If you use Instagram on Android, this entire process will be familiar.) Then, edit and upload the photo as usual. source
InPic (formerly InstaPic)
Another way to Instagram on your computer – including being able to register an account – is using the app InPic (formerly called InstaPic) on Windows. If you want to give this one a try, you can find it here.
Unfortunately, this one’s only available for Windows.
Gramblr
Don’t use this one, or any tool that has you share your password. That breaks the Instagram Terms of Service.
How to Post to Instagram from Chrome Browser
This is 100% free, and since you’re on instagram.com,should be safe to do.
Open Chrome Developer Tools (F12, or Ctrl+Shift+I on PC, Cmd+Opt+I on Mac).
Make sure you’re in mobile view. Select a desired phone or tablet layout.
Refresh the page if you don’t see the icons along the bottom (home, search, upload, engagement, profile).
Tap the center “upload” button and navigate to your photo.
Re editing, you’re limited to 11 filters, image shape, and rotating. That’s it.
Here’s a video that walks you through:
Low Tech Options to Get to Instagram from Computer
If you simply need to move dSLR photos or graphics you created on your computer to your phone, you can bypass the tools mentioned above.
AirDrop
Easiest solution for Apple users.
I simply right-click the item on desktop and choose Share > AirDrop.
Open your mobile device and it should pop up on the AirDrop screen.
Select on your computer, and accept on your mobile device.
Don’t know how to set up AirDrop? This video walks you through.
Mac Photos App
Have an iPhone, and using the Photos desktop app on your Mac? Simply right-click any photo and choose Share > iCloud Photo Sharing.
If you haven’t already, create a shared album and you’ll see it as one of your photo albums right in the Instagram app. Easy-peasy.
Dropbox
If you’re not all Apple, or you’re retouching or creating images in Photoshop, then use Dropbox. It’s a free app that you’ll install on both your computer and your smart device. Then simply copy the items on your desktop to a Dropbox folder (mine’s named IG – clever huh?).
To copy files on a Mac, go to your Finder, open the folder containing the image(s), and option-click on the one(s) you want to copy. Drag to the Dropbox folder and you’ll find them on your phone app instantly. Tap on the image and save it to your camera roll.
If you sign up for a FREE account, I’ll get more storage space on mine. So go ahead, do it, you know you want to!
(Did I mention it’s FREE? And very useful!)
• • • Get a FREE DropBox account • • •
The lowest tech option of all is to email yourself a photo from your computer. This is cumbersome if you’re using high resolution photos, as you’ll be emailing yourself often!
Which Instagram Posting App is Best for You?
Note which of these is affiliated with Instagram. My first group, including Tailwind, are official Instagram Partners that have enabled auto-posting.
As Instagram pursues businesses and advertisers, they’ve updated their API to make posting from desktop easier for business accounts – but only through an approved partner.
I gave you loads of other options that don’t include auto-posting, too! If you do the actual posting yourself, it shouldn’t cross Instagram’s Terms of Service, but I can’t guarantee that.
Will you try one of these tools to post to Instagram from desktop?
Melanie Benson Strick says
We’ve been using ScheduGram and it works pretty good. thanks for the great resources.
Louise Myers says
Good to hear that, Melanie! Thanks.
Rosa Perry says
Thanks for the info Louise – I’ve been using Latergramme and it has never let me down.
Louise Myers says
Great to hear that’s working well, Rosa!
Kim Phillips says
Easiest way is to share via Dropbox.
Louise Myers says
Hi Kim!
I use that method myself – though not technically posting from desktop, perhaps I should add it, as not everyone is aware of it.
I’m really attracted by the convenience of scheduling with Shedugr.am though!
Kim Phillips says
I’ll have to take a look at that. Keep ’em coming!
Alice says
Hey Kim, may i ask how to schedule post via Dropbox? thanks!
Louise Myers says
You can’t actually schedule posts via Dropbox. It’s just a shortcut to get files from your computer to your phone.
Lisa Kalner Williams says
I happen to be a big fan of posts.so for desktop posting to Instagram. It seems to have fewer quirks than some of its counterparts.
Louise Myers says
Hi Lisa,
You’re fortunate you got in before Instagram made posts.so stop offering that ability. I went to try it a couple months ago. They only offer posting and scheduling to
Pinterest, Twitter, VK.com now.
Kamrul says
Hi Louise,
Thanks for your wonderful content in this page. I have just downloaded your noted softwares. And I will try to post photos and videos via desktop and check whether that works well. Thanks again for the ideas.
Kamrul
Louise Myers says
Fantastic, Kamrul! Would love to hear how it goes.
Lore says
Helpful! Thanks. Installed Instapic. Now, there’s no need to transfer images to my mobile phone. Tried gramblr too but I was sad with the results.
Louise Myers says
I’ve heard lots of poor results with Gramblr. I’m happy to hear Instapic helped you out, Lore!
Layla says
Thanks this help a lot! 🙂
Louise Myers says
So glad to hear that, Layla! Thanks for your comment.
Oswald says
Hi please add https://Wisel.it app for Instagram multi accounts media scheduling. Regards!
Louise Myers says
I will add it and check it out as well. Thanks!
Jad says
Great post.
What would you recommend if I just want to post through my desktop and want to be-able to Hashtag without being restricted by Instagram?
Louise Myers says
Hi Jad,
You’d want to use an emulator, where you’re actually running the Instagram app on your computer. So that would be Blue Stacks or InstaPic.
Rita Sun says
Hello Louise!
I want to add one more way for upload photo to instagram from PC https://push.photo/
Use 2 months and all is well!
Louise Myers says
Thanks Rita, I’ve looked it over and will add as time permits.
Olga Razumovskaya says
Hello Louise,
txs a lot for such a great post!
Regarding Wisel.it and Push.Photo, I have doubts that they don’t break Instagram’s policies since I haven’t found clear explanation of how their posting systems work. So it might be risk of IG account ban if you use these services. On the other hand, Schedugr.am is transparent on explaining how they work; but this service would charge $20 for each of connected accounts.
Have you heard anything on how it is safe to work through Wisel.it and Push.Photo?
Olga
Louise Myers says
Hi Olga,
I’ve contacted both companies for further details. I did see on push.photo that they haven’t had any incidents of banned accounts. I’m guessing that you bear a similar (probably low) risk with any of these services.
I’ll get back with further details.
Olga Razumovskaya says
Hi Louise,
txs a lot for the follow up! It would be interesting to know the replies of the services!
Louise Myers says
Hi Olga,
I did hear back quickly from both companies.
Both said they’ve never had a user account blocked by using their services. Wisel.it said they’re using “smartphones and devices,” and push.photo said they’re emulating Androids on their servers. Instagram would not be able to tell the difference, they say. And essentially this is what Schedugram is doing too (I believe they use tablets).
Best of luck with your choice!
raissa says
i’ve download bluestacks and it works well. thanks for recommendation louise 🙂
Louise Myers says
Great to hear! Thanks for letting us know, Raissa.
Jacklyn Wright says
There’s a website available for PC that i use & it works great for uploading photos to Instagram from computer & it’s called Deskgram & you can also add hashtags as well…
I believe there’ll be a tagging/filtering system added to the website soon if not done so already =)
And even if you don’t have an iphone or android, you can just automatically choose from the list available when you register from the website 🙂
I’ve been using it for quite some time & as I stated before, it works very well 🙂
here’s a link for it
http://www.deskgram.com
Louise Myers says
I’m glad it’s working for you. I’m bit wary as they have a Twitter widget on their home page, yet they haven’t tweeted for 6 months. Plus the image size of 640 pixels they mention is also outdated. It looks a bit abandoned.
James says
InstaPic also works on Win10
Louise Myers says
Awesome! Thanks, James. Will update.
Terry Green says
I used Latergramm for quite a while and really liked it. Because I scheduled at least 1 post per day – usually 2, I had to get the paid version which is $19.99 per month. Sooo … when Hootsuite integrated Instagram, I quickly hopped on to see how it worked. Love it too! Since I already have a paid Hootsuite account, it made sense for me to cancel Latergramm and go with Hootsuite. It’s so nice to do it all from one platform.
I’m playing with the free trial of Tailwind for Pinterest right now … I like it and may also integrate that with Hootsuite. Oh the fun of it all!
Louise Myers says
I agree Terry – it seems there’s no reason to pay for latergramme if you’re using HootSuite. It has the same notification feature.
Oh my goodness I love Tailwind! Saving my sanity with Pinterest posting 🙂
Jim says
Thanks L.
A very useful list.
I appreciate your fine work,
==>Jim
Louise Myers says
Hey Jim,
Glad to hear you like it!
Louise
Manu says
Thanks for this helpful post !
Just want to share with you a free way to upload photos to instagram from your computer using arc welder.
Here’s the video which explain everything : https://youtu.be/q_kxvr5Qx8M
Have a great day !
Manu
Louise Myers says
Hi Manu,
I checked it out, only works if you have an Android phone according to the comments. Still may be useful to some.
Lena says
Hi,
Just wanted to say, I’ve been using onlypult.com for 5 months now with no problems. I can schedule or plan several posts for multiple accounts t the same time.
It’s quick and easy 🙂
Louise Myers says
Glad to hear it, Lena!
Andreia says
Hi Louise,
Great post.
I’ve schedule some posts to instagram, with Latergram, but they didn’t post my hastags. Do you think it’s because of the number of hashtags or something?
Thank you 🙂
Louise Myers says
Hi Andreia,
I’m doubtful about the number of hashtags, since you’re allowed 30. I don’t use Latergram, so I’m not aware of their issues. Maybe they have a help section or email support?
Blanca says
Hi Louise,
Great piece. I’m with Socialdraft and you can schedule to Instagram on our dashboard too. You connect your Instagram account and your mobile phone. Then you schedule your posts and get an SMS at the time of publishing. The SMS contains the image and write up for the post. The process varies a little on android and iphone, but it’s pretty easy.
Would love it if you took us for a spin. Message me so I can set you up with a journalist trial account so you can check it out and give your honest opinion on it – the dash does tons more 🙂
Louise Myers says
Hi Blanca!
Sorry I didn’t see this for a couple days – though we’ve been conversing on Twitter 🙂
I will get back to you, I’d like to try it out at some point, but crazy busy right now!
Cheers, Louise
aya says
HI I need help please? How to upload video using computer?
Louise Myers says
Any of the options in the article except HootSuite and Latergram should be able to do this. Check the sites and see if they post video as well as photos.
Sean Durrant says
I’m currently trying to use the Hootsuite app to post to Instagram but if you have to go to your mobile phone to approve it then in my opinion that kind of defeats the object of using Hootsuite to do this task?
Louise Myers says
It depends on what you want. HootSuite does help you build a schedule and gets the photo to your phone from your computer. Any of the apps that actually post for you aren’t sanctioned by Instagram, so although they tell me it’s never happened, using one of them could get your IG account closed.
Mohsen says
I Used Gramblr And Now I’m blocked from following my friends : ( what should I do ?
Louise Myers says
Sorry to hear that! Have you tried getting in touch with Gramblr? At least let them know, as I’m pretty sure they’ve said this doesn’t happen 🙁
If your account isn’t closed, this ability may return after a week or so. Best of luck.
Jonathan Whiteley says
Nice, I didn’t even know there were so many of image uploading applications around. I used to use gramblr, but after switching to Linux I needed a cross-platform solution, deskgram that i tried was freezing my PC every time it was launched, and the only one satisfactory that I have found so far is Zengram.net. Posting isn’t its main function, far from that, but it still exists and works simply.
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the tip, Jonathan!
Charlie Walkrich says
I hope that one day they’ll let us use our computers. It would be so much easier to provide quality content for our followers!
Louise Myers says
I agree, Charlie!
Gary says
Hi Louise
This is one of the most extensive posts I’ve seen on the topic of scheduling instagram posts
but you forgot 🙁 we’re Autogrammer.com the only scheduler that supports Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook – and no phone, no notifications required – 100% automated
Gary
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the heads up, Gary! I’ll add you on my update. Was waiting for the new IG API to see if it changed things for the schedulers.
Seth says
As of June 1, 2016 the Hootsuite app and web services no longer support Instagram because of policy changes – not sure if that will be changing
Louise Myers says
Perhaps some features no longer work, such as viewing the IG stream, but the scheduling still works. I just tried it 🙂
Brad says
The fact that this is such a topic all over the place is ridiculous.
What brainless moron(s) at Instagram thought it would be a bright idea to keep people from posting media from a PC, laptop.. mac?! Good job instagram, you just made it extremely difficult for 2/3rds of the entire planet.
Either way, thanks for the info. I completely agree with you about Gramblr. On top of the info you already covered, there is no way that I would risk allowing my Username and Password to be available to some random coder.
Annette says
Hi there. I am Danish and feel a little lost here. I have tried Iconosquare for 5 days now, but think the way they do liking and commenting on others photos is rather complicated. I don’t know which one is the best. Should I try someone else? I need an easy way to like and comment. Thanks for a very informative blog post. I like to look more into your site, Louise.
Louise Myers says
Hi Annette!
I don’t believe there are any easy ways to like and comment outside of Instagram itself. You can do that on instagram.com though.
Instagram recently shut down all other apps’ ability to access their complete feed. Likely due to their recent algorithm.
Annette says
Thank you, Louise.
I will look at instagram.com
Best xxx
Emily says
Thank you for the great post, Louise! There are so many options, it’s really hard to choose one. I’ve tried both Hootsuite and Schedugram. Hootsuite is great if you already have a paid account, but I find Schedugram a little more convenient. I also loved the examples of IG accounts you showed. Boldbrandfast’s stream looks amazing, I’ve never seen anything like this! Nikelabs, Oreo, chcottage and Audi also have beautiful accounts, and your IG is fantastic, too! Maybe you could do another post about visually inspiring Instagramers?
Louise Myers says
Absolutely, that’s been on my mind for a while 🙂
Chris Hodgeman says
Hey Louise!
This is by far the most comprehensive article I have read on IG posting from a desktop. I thought I knew all of the solutions out there but obviously not!
Just to let you know that we have added IG scheduling support (via ios app) to MavSocial and our social inbox also users to comment and like posts.
And if i can throw my 2 cents worth into the discussion about whether to schedule to IG via an app like Hootsuite, Later.com or MavSocial does etc as opposed to direct publishing via some of the other ones you mentioned above. To me the answer is very clear – use an App even though it’s not as convenient – the risks associated with publishing directly (via the web) are too great and the least of these risks is that your account gets suspended!
Best Chris
Louise Myers says
Awesome! Thanks Chris. I need to add MavSocial, and also Buffer!
I agree it’s not worth the risk of using one of the publishers. And I don’t even know what other risks besides account suspension – which would be pretty sad in itself 🙁
Louise Myers says
Chris – I just checked your site. IG scheduling not available on desktop yet? Let me know when you have it so I can add. This article is only desktop solutions.
Chris Hodgeman says
Hi Louise
Our website is now updated to reflect that MavSocial does Instagram scheduling as well.
To answer your question about other risks apart from being blocked if you use a direct publishing web app.
To me, the other big risk is that you are giving your password to a completely unknown person /company etc In most cases, they don’t give you any information on who they are, how to contact them, where they are located etc except for an email address yet they have complete control over your account! Would you give me your Instagram password just because i asked for it?! I doubt it.
And even if they are OK what happens if they are hacked by someone and the hackers get your password – the hackers can start spamming your accounts with their garbage and it will take a while for you to get control of your accounts again as I am sure Instagram won’t be overly sympathetic! Meanwhile, your customers won’t be very impressed, to say the least.
Of course teh web apps say they have security in place to stop this but how secure is it? If Yahoo can hacked and loose 500 m account details, i am sure these guys can be too!
As opposed to how Hootsuite, MavSocial, Later etc do it whereby we never have access to your login details (email/password etc), use what Instagram do give us and if there is a problem you can revoke access to these apps in 10 secs!
I know that everyone wants it to be easy to publish to IG and these apps make it so, but the potential downside is much greater than the saving in time (IMHO). Hopefully IG will decide to provide a real API that will then solve this problem.
All the best
Chris
Louise Myers says
Excellent points, Chris! Thanks for taking the time to post.
I promise to update the blog as time permits.
Ann Kroon says
Hi Louise, many thanks for an excellent post! However, I found you through googling info and reviews for Deskgram for desktop uploading to Instagram, but I cannot seem to find any info on Deskgram in this post? Have you used it? I’m just looking for the most simple solution to upload images to Instagram from my PC desktop. Thanks!
Louise Myers says
I haven’t used this one and from the info I can gather, I personally wouldn’t risk it. There is a monthly fee to upload, and it has only 2.5 stars on the app store.
Andy Thompson says
Great post. This is really interesting, I’ve been captivated to read this one. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Aniya says
Many thanks Louise, for that excellent article! There are a great number of alternatives, it’s really hard to decide on one. I’ve tried both Schedugram and Hootsuite. If you have a paid consideration Hootsuite is excellent, but I find Schedugram a tad bit more practical. I also liked the types of IG balances you exhibited. Boldbrandfast’s stream seems amazing, I’ve never noticed anything like this!
Louise Myers says
Schedugram seems great, just be aware that it violates IG Terms of Use, so there’s a chance (however slight they make it out to be) that your IG could be shut down.
Holster says
Great article and well researched, many thanks. Any thoughts on Flume for desktop uploading? It seems to be well up there in the App store.
Louise Myers says
Very hard to get any info on this app. A search of the App Store with its official name (Flume for Instagram) returns no results. I did find it via Google, but no description of how it works.
If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it works for you.
Gina says
I’m glad you’ve included socialdraft.com in the list. I’m currently using this tool to schedule my Instagram posts and I’m loving it! They have a lot of cool features not only for Instagram but for other social networks as well. It really save me a lot of time! Thanks!
Louise Myers says
Glad to hear you like SocialDraft, Gina! Thanks.
daisychain says
Thanks for this excellent overview of the options available. I tried several and they didn’t work, and it was quite frustrating. I couldn’t get past a Net 2.0 error on Bluestacks, and on Gramblr, I can’t get past the login screen. And I really don’t want to pay for something I don’t use very often. But I found Wisel.it works well and they have a free tier that lets you post 1 pic a day, which is all I need. Very grateful to learn about it from you.
Louise Myers says
Fantastic! Glad to hear it.
Stephan says
When you say Bluestacks, you should also mention MeMu which is much better Android Emulator – fast and easy to use.
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the tip, Stephan!
No Name says
Here is a Schedule app for Instagram that really works. It can upload pictures to your instagram account automatically. That means, what you only do is schedule your posts, then all is done.
Louise Myers says
Sorry folks, this is an article about posting from desktop. I also don’t allow keywords instead of a real name. Links removed.
Connie Kresin Campbell says
Thanks for all the information – especially about Dropbox as I never thought of that. I have been uploading photos from my computer to my phone. Dropbox works much better, I just used it.
Louise Myers says
Great to hear! I’m glad that solution worked for you, Connie.
Tina says
Which one is the best ? I’ve tried later but its quite complicated as i have to post it again on my smartphone
Louise Myers says
I can’t recommend any that post for you. IG is cracking down even harder on this type of app. I’d stick with Later.
Dan says
Dear Louise,
Happy New Year!
Thank you for this article, I was looking for a solution to use Instagram from my Desktop (how do others do brand building with their smartphones, I wonder??)
So I followed your suggestion and went for Gramblr.
I am on a Win 10 Desktop and so far I must say it works really nicely.
It also comes with some offers to help you with IG Likes, which I haven’t tired yet… but looks interesting.
Also they try to make Gramblr users help each other with Likes, which I also haven’t tried yet, but seems to be a nice idea (even autolike of other Gramblr uploads).
So: Thank you very much for your guide. Was very well woth reading!
Thx and have a very successful 2017 to you all!
Dan
Louise Myers says
Terrific! I would recommend against using any automated liking, etc, as it could get your account closed down.
Ronald Hall says
For Pinterest, there is this awesome tool I use…
Louise Myers says
Not only is this post NOT about Pinterest, but I don’t recommend phony automated tools. I removed the name.
Do you work for them? I see you talk about them all over…
John says
Howdy!!!
I was wondering if there are any apps that don’t advertise their product when you use them…
I’ve tried a few and don’t like the:
Posted by Hootsuite (click here to discover the power of hootsuite)
Posted by Edgar
Posted by ______
I’d like one that has their logo and ad removed from our company’s post! Does that service exist?
Louise Myers says
Not sure what you’re referring to. I’ve never seen an ad like that when I post using a scheduler.
Rahul says
Thanks Louise for your sharing. Wonderful guide. Now I am saving lot of my time.
Martin says
Great post. Instagram actually just launched a mobile site, which may sound underwhelming but this is huge if you want to use Instagram on desktop.
In Chrome, load up developer tools and view the page as a mobile device. Now you can use Instagram just like in the app. You can rad the full details over here: http://goos3d.ie/instagram-desktop-1-quick-hack-lets-post-instagram-desktop/
Louise Myers says
I just tried it and it’s brilliant! Giving you a shoutout in the updated post.
line s says
you can now post to IG with no apps via your desktop – using just a UA switcher!
marketinghacker.blog/blog/how-to-post-to-instagram-from-a-desktop-pc-or-laptop
Louise Myers says
The switcher isn’t even needed – as I detailed in the beginning of the post.
Sara says
Hi, Louise. Just tried the method you added today and it worked. That’s pretty cool.
I do use Hootsuite to pre-schedule to Instagram because most of my quote images are on the desktop.
It should be interesting to see if Facebook/Instagram will change their stance on third party schedulers.
Have a great Thursday.
Louise Myers says
Hey Sara!
So sorry, just found 2 of your comments in spam. I should check it more often!
Jacky Barker says
Hi Louise
Really great post and I love the way it takes you through it all step by step. What about Hopper HQ (I am in no way associated with them). I have seen they advertise extensively on Twitter and a big USP is highly automated and “no annoying notifications” – they post straight to Instagram. I think they fall within your second category schedulers that set up posts and then post for you via mobile devices or emulators. When you research the app – the founder quite clearly states that he believes he is complying with Instagram’s Terms and Conditions.
Thank you for explaining why Instagram is not in favour of scheduling – it does make sense that it is a share the moment tool. It is probably also why you can’t put links in the comments etc.
Would love to know your thoughts.
Louise Myers says
Hi Jacky,
Yeah, all the auto-posting apps say that. They try to interpret the ToS that you initiated the post, so that makes it OK. Well, IGers initiated the auto-commenting from Instagress, and IG still shut it down.
At the time I wrote this, you had a better chance to get away with these auto-posting schedulers. But IG is cracking down. For myself, I wouldn’t risk it. (I even bought one but never used it).
Charlene says
Ty for the tip to post on IG from my laptop. I seem to only be able to post pics, not video, is that the case for you as well?
Louise Myers says
Hi, that appears to be the case, though I hadn’t tried it before. I’m not a video person, so I don’t know if it might have to do with the file type?
Martin says
Thanks for picking this up Louise! Delighted to see so many enjoying it.
Lori says
Louise ,
Every time I see your pins I learn something new. Thank you for your delightful work.
I am learning tailwind and trying to get my Pinterest account back up and running well.
Louise Myers says
Great to hear, Lori!
dzogzen says
Thanks for sharing the Instagram tricks. I spent a lot of time solving the riddle of how to post pics there from desktop. Your article saved my time!
Steve Williams says
Hi Louise,
Thanks for your clever Chrome hack tip and all these Instagram tools!
Another app that would fall in the first group is Buffer.
Louise Myers says
OK thanks, Steve!
Ali Abdelkader says
Hello , Thanks For This Great Post i Want To Mention That You Can Upload photos directly from your Computer Browser to your Instagram account without needing your phone, schedule Instagram posts by creating a calendar to publish on the required day and time to get more followers, and manage multiple accounts and post on any account at the same time using InstaGhost.com
Jennifer James says
Thanks so much for doing all this leg work! I tried the first one but my mobile phone (android) was not a choice under the “responsive” tab. I chose Galaxy s5 to see if that worked (it didn’t), but also of note, there was no evidence or way to post from my pc. Would that be obvious if there were an actual Android choice? In other words, what are the next steps after choosing the mobile device type?
Louise Myers says
You would click the center icon at the bottom – the same place you tap and hold on your phone or tablet. All of the choices on my screen show that button (including Galaxy). Maybe you’re not logged in?
It shouldn’t matter which device you choose. It doesn’t have to match your actual device. But Galaxy and Nexus are Android devices.
Chia says
Hi Louise
Thanks very much for this. But how do I edit the caption? For me the need to use Instagram for PC is so that I can save time typing on mobile, which I’m bad at, because I really like long captions for my pics.
Louise Myers says
You can type a caption (or comment) on desktop, but you can’t edit a previously posted caption.
Chia says
Thanks very much Louise, so when i try to ‘click’ on the three dots in the corner of the picture, I just get Delete, Embed and Cancel (the usual case when we access Instagram on Desktop). That means that I can only type a caption upon uploading a photo from my desktop? I can’t just upload photo from mobile and then type it from nothing on the desktop?
Also I didn’t receive an email alert upon your response to my comment – just thought to let you know in case your intention was to enable such a feature 🙂
Louise Myers says
“I can only type a caption upon uploading a photo from my desktop… I can’t just upload photo from mobile and then type it from nothing on the desktop?”
Yes, that’s exactly right.
I’ll have to check into the comments issue. Maybe the email went to spam? I believe others are receiving them.
Chia says
Thanks! No not in spam. nothing received. I had to check back on this page.
Stephen Hartley says
Other option to avoid typing directly on your mobile is to connect a bluetooth (wireless) keyboard.
Jad says
Is there a way to manage DMs? Messages?
It worked but cant access or manage messages.
Louise Myers says
I don’t see a way to do that. You can post, view the feed, search, like and comment.
Stephen Hartley says
That’s not possible because Instagram have chosen not to include all the functionality that’s available in the (native) app on their mobile site. Try the IG site in your mobile’s browser and you’ll see that messaging, editing posts and certain comment functions (such as replying) are not available.
Of course this is exactly the same view that spoofing the user agent will achieve, and maybe there are more missing features on the mobile site that I’ve not yet noticed. IG really are trying to force users to interact using only their app, very frustrating from a usability point of view…!
Amimul Ihsan says
thanks for your awesome post. now i can post photos instagram from pc. and it’s easier too.
thanks for sharing.
Andrew says
That developer tools tip is next-level genius. Great find.
Louise Myers says
Glad you liked it, Andrew!
Andrew says
Hey Lousie, I have a terrible feeling that this no longer works. I have just tried on Chrome and Opera which were both working yesterday, but it looks like… no longer. Hopefully it is just me.
Andrew says
…Though I have just found a plugin which seems to work – Chrome UA Spoofer. That worked when I set it to Android.
Louise Myers says
I think you’re right. Looks like it’s been disabled.
Stephen Hartley says
If you’re moving images from Mac to iPhone and vice versa, I’ve found the simplest way to do it is to use AirDrop, very easy to use, see https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT203106
Louise Myers says
Thanks!
Stephen Hartley says
There’s a useful account of which features are and are not available on the latest version of the IG mobile site here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/08/instagram-mobile-web/
Louise Myers says
Perfect. Thanks!
Yasar says
Very Informative Post!
I use Andyroid PC Software for running Android apps on PC.
This trick is also too nice to me.
Please keep sharing.
L.P. says
Hey Louise,
Do I need to be a developer to use this (would be super awesome if I had access) tip? Shortcut doesn’t take me anywhere..and when I sign out – it asks me to register as a developer..
Louise Myers says
I’m not a developer! If the shortcut doesn’t work, just go to the 3 dots at top right on Chrome, go to More Tools… Developer Tools.
Sorry but I don’t know what you mean about signing out.
Malinee says
Hi Louise, this is a very useful article. I just want to be able to post to IG and have my copy formatted correctly (It is pretty easy to post photos from a desktop using Safari). When I did a post and was pretty careful about not breaking up words and going too far to the right, the actual writing of the post ended up formating poorly. Are there any simple hacks you could suggest? Thanks in advance!
Louise Myers says
What didn’t you like about the formatting?
John says
I am a developer but I did not know this is the only way to do it.
Kind of strange that Instagram doesn’t have a desktop app…
Thank you for your advice!
Ceera Photos says
Thanks too much. A nice way.
Teri says
Hi. I’ve tried your first method using my MAC. Selected the photo I wanted to post from my desktop, but it didn’t appear on my IG account. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I hate doing this stuff on my phone, and I was searching for an alternative. Thanks so much.
Louise Myers says
Hi Teri, I don’t know how to guess what you’re doing wrong. I’m using Chrome for Mac and it works for me.
Michelle says
Thank you for good advise! I dream of a day when someone in Instagram will make checking recived likes on deskop!
It might be muuuch easier when we are making giveaways to copy the list of users that liked post for random picker….
Any idea how to tell them? :)))
Louise Myers says
Facebook / Instagram isn’t very good at listening, unfortunately.
sophia says
I have pressed shift/control/1 and shift/command/1
but nothing happens, I called the Instagram number and the Indians kept saying it was the wrong number and call this one instead.. That one sounded like a scam and then they hung up on me.
How do I post from a Mac computer please?
Louise Myers says
Oh, Sophia. Instagram could not help you with this – it’s a HACK! And it has nothing to do with IG that you haven’t pulled up the developer tools on your browser.
If the shortcut doesn’t work, just go to the 3 dots at top right on Chrome, go to More Tools… Developer Tools.
Arifa Rahman says
OMG!!!!!!! thnx for the tips!!!!!!!!!!! Genius person…….
Cliff says
Hi Louise,
i tried the ctrl+shift+i method once few days ago.
but now it seems that the camera icon, upload button at the bottom is no longer available.
Any other ways to upload directly from PC?
Louise Myers says
Looks like it’s been disabled. Every other way I know of is listed in the article. Obviously IG doesn’t want us doing this though….
Monalisa Matache says
I’ve attempted your first strategy utilizing my MAC. Chosen the photograph I needed to post from my desktop, however it didn’t show up on my IG account. Don’t comprehend what I’m fouling up. I detest doing this stuff on my telephone, and I was hunting down an option. Much appreciated to such an extent.
Louise Myers says
“I’ve attempted your first strategy”
Using Tailwind? It would send a reminder to your phone. You still need to post manually. This is required by IG terms of use.
nategh says
Hi . Thank you for your good and useful article . But I wanna create a new Photo Album with pc . Can anyone help me?
Ram says
I am finding some google chrome extension, which redirects pc to Instagram’s mobile website
brij mohan says
being a developer, I am amazed to know about this tool. first time I heard about these tool
MSP says
Great tips! Sometimes your smartphone cannot do enough with the things you want to do with Instagram.
Asif malik says
another Post on Instagram website Kingweb.biz
No need to download any software on desktop.
One drive, dropbox support
shrikant says
how to upload my videos directly from my pc ??
without bluestacks and other shits !!
Louise Myers says
Well, you can’t. If you don’t like that, complain to Instagram. I have no control over how they run their app.
Jim says
Hi
Whats your review about buying some instagram followers to grow my account?
What is your opinion about purchasing some instagram followers to grow my account?
Louise Myers says
It’s a terrible idea that I highly recommend no one waste their money on.
Sharon Knettell says
I tried Push.Photo. I tried the test worked like a charm and got the paid version. After a few maddening posting glitches- and a threat to unsubscribe it works like a charm. REALLY, no cumbersome workarounds. I use Grambler as well, but if you are an artist like me and want to post verticals from your PC this is an easy service to use.
Louise Myers says
The workarounds (though annoying) are required to comply with Instagram’s terms of service. As I noted, there’s a possibility with an app like Push Photo that IG could close your account.
Diptanu says
Hi Louise,
Just want to thank you for sharing this informative article. I am searching in the internet to use Instagram on my Laptop, finally got here.
Jason Brown says
Instapic seems to have disappeared from the Windows Store.
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the heads up. Name has changed so I updated the link to InPic.
Tarek Dinaji says
When it comes to posting on your instagram account from your desktop, Instagram says No, get an app.
Fortunately tools like Later and hootsuite one can easily manage his instagram profile from his desktop. I really like how you handpicked some of the best instagram tools out there.
Peter says
You did not mention Gramblr will access your instagram account and do what they like with it, i.e like and comment on other people’s photos, follow random people, add apps to your account, basically granting them access to do what the hell they please…
We noticed our account followed people we did not action, spammy accounts, use at your own risk.
Their terms:
3 – Access to Instagram
3.1
– When creating the account, you grant Gramblr the authorization to access your Instagram account at any time to:
3.1.1
Upload a picture to your account,
3.1.2
Like other users’ photos,
3.1.3
Add an application to your Instagram account,
3.1.4
Add a comment using your account,
3.1.5
Commit a follow to another user with your account,
3.1.6
View, create or modify any content associated with the account,
3.2
– If you are a member of the like or follower exchange program, you will be banned if:
3.2.1
you use fake accounts for any purpose such as gaining legitimate likes or followers,
3.2.2
you unfollow or unlike any picture or video,
3.2.3
you modify the software in such way that the likes or follows are not properly committed.
Louise Myers says
I haven’t included any of these apps’ ToS. Anyone using software has to due their own due diligence and decided if the program is right for them.
Are you saying Gramblr actually did that on your account? Other software charges for it… I would be quite surprised if Gramblr did it free. However it appears that they have a “like or follower exchange program” that this would apply to.
Dan says
Hello,
This post is really great full of useful information. Thank you so much Louise. I am looking for a tool that you could help me create/edit captions on my instagram pictures directly from my desktop. Is there a tool you would recommend?
Louise Myers says
Hi Dan,
As far as I know, all of these allow you to create a caption for posting. I don’t think any allow you to edit the caption after posting though. I can’t even do that on instagram.com.
My favorite tool is Tailwind. You can read more about approved schedulers and auto-posting here.
Julian Macintyre says
Hey Louise, Love what you’re sharing here had quick look round your site and must say pretty impressed. I came across this Article, whilst Listening to an old Social Media Examiner podcast. They recommended a tool, called thegridapp.com, which apparently enabled people to post to Instagram from a desktop.Doesn’t seem to exist anymore, ever heard of it and did you know what happened to it?
Louise Myers says
Haven’t heard of that one. A lot of these tools are going to come and go. At this point, I can’t recommend a posting tool that’s not approved by Instagram. There’s just no reason to risk your account.
Alex says
Have you tried Windowed? I would love to know your thoughts on it!
Louise Myers says
I wouldn’t try or recommend it. As they say, you must “understand the risks involved with using 3rd party software.” There’s simply no need to risk it, as there are IG-approved methods.
Also those first few browser-based methods were disabled shortly after they spread across the internet. It’s obvious IG doesn’t approve of sneaky methods.
Anelise says
What do you this about Preppr?
Louise Myers says
Sounds expensive for what it does. Tailwind is a better deal since it’s an approved partner and can actually post for you.
Andrey M. says
Gramblr is subscribing you to fake and spam accounts daily, gaining money from it. Don’t share your password with any stupid services, only OAuth.
Louise Myers says
Oh no! Thanks for the heads up.
Kelly says
The Tailwind free trial still requires a smartphone or mobile device to be able to use it a tall! How does this help people who DON’T have smartphones use Instagram from their desktop????
Louise Myers says
I’ll check into this because I don’t believe this to be the case. You *can* use the mobile Tailwind app but I never have. I’ll let you know. Things do change!
David says
Hey Louise, have you tried the Desktop for Instagram extension?
It’s a Chrome extension, so it works on mac, windows, and linux.
Louise Myers says
I haven’t.
David says
A friend created it, maybe the extension is worth mentioning in your article.
In case you’d like to try it: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/desktop-for-instagram/nlhjgcligpbnjphflfdbmabbmjidnmek
Max says
Hey, I’m Max co-founder of Storrito.com Just want to mention our tool Storrito here as another option to post Instagram stories from a desktop computer or laptop. We also support Instagram’s hash-, user- and geo-tags. Best regards, Max
Louise Myers says
Cool! Is Storrito an Instagram partner?
shiwangi says
The point which you have mentioned in the article about Gramblr is 100% true.
When i installed Gramblr in my pc and started using, it was working fine for few months, later i started facing issue with login. I was not able to login even with my correct user id and password. I used to get pop up saying broken string, invalid username password. But, i was trying to login with correct userid and pwd.
Waste software. not using anymore.
Louise Myers says
Good to know. Thanks for sharing with us.
Kevn says
I think you’ve missed Buffer. It is even better as you can post to all social media networks with the same way of scheduling and Buffer Instagram feature works exactly same way. But for personal use I prefer browser extensions, because it’s easy to use, no registration needed and it’s totally free =))
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the tip, I’ll look into Buffer.
Gomez Mariya says
Hi..
I am already using “Instagram for desktop”. That’s not really bad.
Louise Myers says
If the limited features work for you it’s fine.
Petra Paul says
This website is horrible !!! Totally overloaded with advertising spam which makes it difficult to read the article.
I just quit because this is far too much!
Louise Myers says
My apologies for your poor experience. I need to work on reducing the quantity of ads.
Angela Hobbs says
I must come in and say, Gramblr is NOT a safe option!
I don’t use my IG account that much, and have had it for a good while with only 12 posts, all done after installing Gramblr. I don’t have any iphones etc… so I was never able to post to the site until I installed the said app.
After placing around 12 posts, I did not post any more since, about 6 or so months. I logged in a couple times, and noticed strangly that I had “followed about 100 people I did not follow… but thought nothing the first time.
I then logged in around Xmas, and noticed the number had shot up consideraly, to around 13 00, but again thought it wierd, but was way too slammed to worry then.
Mind you, at some point after installing this thing, at random times, my pc began warning me of unusual activity, if I recall it is always something like unknown traffic coming in/out of a port. I am not tech oriented in that area, so sort of just prayed Norton would keep it right.
Then last weekend, I logged in to discover 3366 people I was supposedly following. It took me that long to freak, and then began researching this phenomena, (which of course led me to Gramblr and a ton of similira complaints) and further searching on how to make it stop.
As far as unfollowing these people, I have been trying to gradually do that since the beginning of the week, and in reality actually unfollowed almost 400 of them, but 2/3 of them seem to return right away. It will probably take me months to get all these wierd people which I would never in my life follow, off my feeds, but the only other choice is to wipe out the account and start over with a new one, and I really don’t want to do that.
I did change my password after uninstalling it, and I still pray it did not leave anything behind. As of yet I have not again seen the warning about excessive traffic, hope never to again.
Anyway, bottom line, I DO NOT recommend this devil thing lol!!
Louise Myers says
Oh no, that’s absolutely terrible! Thanks for the warning.
John Krootez says
Hi, Louise!
The worst thing about all those apps is that now Instagram has some kind of a ban for ones that use third-party apps and services with their accounts. I think they fight mass-following and time-posting tools that help people organize and automate the growth of their accounts. They said using third-party would definitely put a negative effect on the ranking of such accounts on the recommended and hashtag feeds etc. Heard people start putting likes and following other people for no reason and that’s another side of using third-party apps. Another reason, they say, the third-party provide lots of IG users’ personal information to the Big data collecting companies. I know people use it nevertheless, but the rumors about shadow ban are almost on every blog about IG promotion.
Louise Myers says
Absolutely. This article is scheduled to be updated next week. You should ONLY use IG Official Marketing Partners.
Emily Quirq says
so many good apps are listed here.
thanks for sharing.
recently I started to use ingramer scheduled posting feature and it works even better than many services.
Louise Myers says
I can’t recommend that. Using an unapproved service is a good way to get your account shut down, so beware.
Monica says
Louise, you’re doing incredible work! Thank you for sharing this information, it`s still relevant!
I also would like to ask your opinion about social media services like instagrowing, is it worth to use?
Louise Myers says
Only if you want your account closed by IG. I recommend avoiding all such spammy services. Only use Instagram-approved marketing partners.
Usama Ejaz says
Another good option is socialbu. It works nice and can also schedule Instagram stories.
Louise Myers says
If your IG account is important to your business, I recommend avoiding those that aren’t approved marketing partners.