How to Use Mobile Instagram Features on Your Desktop

Did you know that one billion people use Instagram every month?

Whether you’re a business who wants to manage your Instagram account with more ease, or you just want to edit your photos on your desktop and then post them onto your personal account, our guide can help.

Keep reading to find out more about how you can access the same mobile Instagram features on your desktop. 

Post to Instagram from PC

One of the main features that you can do on your Instagram account on your phone is to upload and share photos with your followers. And now you can also do that on your desktop too, so whether you have a PC or a Mac, have a look at how you can share your Instagram photos from your computer. 

1. Scheduling Tools

One of the ways you can do this is by using a social media scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite, or Agorapulse. These options are usually what businesses go for, however, if you want to share photos or upload videos to Instagram from PC for your personal account then you might want to choose a free scheduling tool such as Later.com. 

Scheduling tools allow you to upload photos on a computer whenever you want. You can also make use of their other features such as bulk uploads and being able to schedule posts in advance. 

2. Changing User-Agent Settings

Another way you can upload your Instagram photos from your computer onto your account is by changing the user-agent settings in your search engine. The user-agent is what tells a website what kind of device you are using. Essentially, when you do this, you are making Instagram think you are using a mobile device instead of a computer. 

Chrome

To do this in Chrome, you need to go to Instagram.com and sign in, then right-click on the page and choose ‘Inspect’. Go to the top-left corner of the Inspector window and click it. This should make the page refresh with a mobile view, when this happens there should now be the ‘+’ button where you can create your Instagram posts (similar to on your mobile). 

When you are finished posting on Instagram, you can then click on the tablet/mobile button again and close the inspector tool. Once again refresh the page and this should go back to the desktop version you saw before.

Safari

To do this on Safari, go to ‘Safari’, click on ‘Preferences’, and then choose ‘Advanced’. Select the box at the bottom ‘Show Develop menu in menu bar’. Open a Safari window and then click on ‘Develop’, select ‘User-Agent’, and then click on ‘Safari — iOS 12.1.3 — iPhone’ on the menu. 

Open a new tab and go onto Instagram.com and sign in to your account. Similarly to your mobile device or for Chrome users, you’ll see a ‘+’ button at the bottom of the page. If you select it then you can upload your photos onto your account. Once you’re finished uploading photos or videos to Instagram, make sure you change the user-agent settings back to ‘Default’. 

View Instagram Stories

You can also view Instagram Stories from your desktop. To do this you need to install a Google Chrome extension on your browser. The extension is free to download, very easy to use and it allows you to watch all of your friend’s stories from your PC or Mac. 

Download the Chrome IG Story extension onto your browser and then the next time you log into your account on your desktop, you’ll be able to see and view your friend’s stories at the top (just like on your mobile device). 

Not only can you view Instagram stories, but you can also Instagram live on PCs or Macs. You can do this by using Loola. tv, creating an account and syncing your social media channels. Then once you’ve found the best camera angle, lighting, and got the microphone working, you can go live.

How to Message On Instagram on Laptop

Another feature that you can find on mobile Instagram is effortlessly sending messages. The good news is that you can also send Instagram messages on computers and Macs too. 

1. IG:dm

One of the ways you can access, read, and send direct messages on a desktop is by downloading IG:dm. This application can be used on both Windows and Macs.

When you’ve logged in and verified your account you’ll be directed to the IG:dm interface, from here you can scroll through your messages and chat with your friends and followers with ease. IG:dm also allows you to upload pictures from your computer and send emojis on your direct messages. 

2. Direct Message Reader

Another way you can access and receive direct messages on Instagram is by downloading the Direct Message Reader, which is a direct message Chrome extension.

This extension allows you to receive notifications about new messages and read your messages with ease. Unfortunately, this extension doesn’t yet allow you to reply to messages, so you’ll have to do this on your mobile still. 

Find out more about how you can send an Instagram direct message on Mac and how you can sort out your Instagram account on your desktop.

Start Using Mobile Instagram Features on Your Desktop Now

As you can see, there are several ways in which you can use the same mobile Instagram features on your desktop. Find out which one works best for you and your needs and then start Instagramming.

If you enjoyed reading this article and found it informative, be sure to check out some of our other insightful articles that are filled with top tips and useful how-to guides.