Instagram is one of the most popular social networks in use today. The official mobile apps for iOS and Android devices allow users to capture or upload photos and videos plus interact with all their followers and users they follow themselves.
The free Instagram app is designed for taking, editing and sharing images on mobile phones, rather than desktop machines. Instagram is primarily meant to be used from a mobile device via the official Instagram app, but now it can be accessed and used by web browsers as well.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, did roll out a Web version of its software which is called “Your Instagram Feed on the Web” in February 2013, allowing users to comment on each other’s photos from a regular computer. But that Web feed and Instagram’s website do not allow uploading images directly from a computer; they’re simply designed to display what people have uploaded from mobile devices on the Web and to give each user their own area on the website. (You can find your Web area by substituting your Instagram user ID for “username” in this URL: http://instagram.com/username).
Starting November 2017, you can experience instagram.com in two new ways – by creating stories and saving posts you like.
You’ll see the camera icon at the top left of your feed. Tap it to take a photo or to add a photo from your library. You can also add text and change the text color. When you’re done, post it to your story by tapping “Share Your Story”.
Instagram introduced its bookmarking feature nearly a year ago, and now users can view those saved posts on their web browsers. This is separate from the archive feature, where users can remove their old posts from their permanent grid and keep them in a private, in-app folder.
Additionally, on the mobile web, you can now save posts you’d like to revisit later. Access all of your saved posts by tapping the bookmark icon in the top right corner of the page.
These features will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
Instagram is trying to make sure everyone has access to its Stories feature. The company is now beginning to let anyone add to their story from the web, so long as they’re on mobile.
The feature is pretty basic for the time being: you can only add photos and place some text on top of them. Instagram’s numerous other fun features – like face filters, stickers, and different post types, aren’t available. So you can’t do videos yet, and you can’t post from the desktop, which is some pretty big limitations.
You can do a lot with Instagram from a regular web browser – except actually post new content. There’s currently no option to upload, edit and post photos or videos to your account from the web, so if you want to do that, you’ll need to download the Instagram app on a compatible mobile device.
You also can’t connect with Facebook friends, see posts you’ve linked, set up two-factor authentication, manage your blocked users, make your profile private/public, switch to a business profile, clear your search history and do a few other things that you can only do through the app.
(You can, however, temporarily disable or permanently delete your Instagram account via the web and not through the app).
Despite some of the limitations of using Instagram via the web, it’s still great to know that you can browse your feed easily, discover new content, configure your user settings, and interact with other users just like you were doing it from the app. This may be a seriously helpful option when small screens and touch keyboards start to feel like more of a hassle than a help.
References
https://instagram-press.com/blog/2017/11/16/stories-and-save-on-mobile-web/
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/16/16665934/instagram-stories-web-uploading-launches
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/7/16614174/instagram-bookpark-posts-browser-view
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-instagram-on-a-computer-pc-or-mac-2654648
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-view-instagram-3486314
https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/14/13941522/instagram-bookmark-tool-creepy
Tags: Digital Marketing, Instagram, Konnect Insights