Social Media Instagram How to Use Instagram on a PC or Mac Instagram workarounds and ways to upload photos from your desktop by Leslie Walker Writer Former Lifewire writer Leslie Walker is a multimedia journalism professor who covers social media, web publishing, and internet technologies. our editorial process Twitter Leslie Walker Updated on January 05, 2021 reviewed by Jon Fisher Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. our review board Article reviewed on Mar 30, 2020 Jon Fisher Tweet Share Email The Ultimate Guide to Instagram The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Introduction Instagram Basics How to Use Instagram Instagram Tips for Beginners Check Messages on Instagram Add or Change an Instagram Background Search Instagram for Tags and Users Add Music to Instagram Video Use Instagram Video Chat Try Instagram Shopping Get Verified on Instagram Clear Search History on Instagram Posting on Instagram The Best Time to Post Save a Draft of a Post Repost an Instagram Story See Previously Liked Posts Post a GIF to Instagram Add Multiple Photos to Stories Save Instagram Videos How to Quickly Repost Photos Saving Photos Deleting Photos and Videos View Saved Posts With Instagram Collections Working With Followers Mute Someone on Instagram See Who Unfollowed You on Instagram Block Someone On Instagram Unblock Someone on Instagram See Who Viewed You Great Tools to Track Comments Remove Followers on Instagram Tips to Get a Shoutout on Instagram Attract More Instagram Followers Delete 'Suggestions for You' IG Tips & Tricks Instagram Tips and Tricks to Try Add Highlights on Instagram Learn About Instagram Direct Use Instagram's Close Friends Feature How to Delete or Deactivate Your Account Reactivate Your Account Reset Your Password Get Started With Location Tagging How to Repost Shoot Videos with Instagram Video Understanding IG Privacy & Security Hide Your Story on Instagram Does IG Send Screenshot Notifications? Make Your Instagram Account Private See Who Saved Your Instagram Posts Download Everything IG Knows About You Manage Multiple Instagram Accounts Hiding Photos Rather Than Deleting Them How to View Private Instagram Accounts Engaging Users on Instagram Start an Instagram Live Video How to Sell on Instagram Use an Instagram Creator Account Make Money as an Instagram Influencer How to Get More Likes Things You Should Definitely Do Get on the Instagram Explore Page The Best Instagram Apps to Boost Engagement How to Make a Poll Instagram Extras: Captions & More Steal These: The Best Instagram Captions Discover the Best Instagram Filters Have Fun With Instagram Hashtags Use Emoji Hashtags on IG The Easy Way to Track IG Hashtags How to Use the IG Questions Sticker Using Instagram on Other Platforms Can You Get Instagram on Apple Watch? Use Instagram on a PC or Mac Get Instagram for iPad What is the Galaxy S10 Instagram Mode? View Instagram on the Web Online Connect Instagram to Facebook Tools for Posting From the Desktop What to Know From PC, open Chrome > Instagram.com > CTRL+Shift+I >Toggle device toolbar > Responsive > Zoom > Fit to Window. From Mac, open Safari > Preferences > Advanced > Show Develop menu in menu bar > Instagram.com > Develop > User Agent > Safari. This article explains how to use Instagram on a PC or Mac desktop. Instagram on a Desktop You can access Instagram on your PC or Mac using a web browser to review your feed, like and comment on posts, view your profile, and follow or unfollow people. Instagram also recently added the ability to send and receive direct messages. You can't, however, post photos or videos. But, there are workarounds you can try. To access your Instagram page on the web, go to the address bar in the browser, then enter http://instagram.com/username. How to Post on Instagram From a PC This method uses the Google Chrome code inspector tool to trick Instagram into believing you're posting from a mobile device. Here's how to do it: Go to Instagram.com and log in. Right-click a blank area in the browser window and select Inspect. You can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+Shift+I. Select the Toggle device toolbar icon. It looks like a phone and a tablet. The Inspector view on the left side changes and drop-down menus appear at the top. Select the Responsive drop-down menu and choose a mobile device from the list. Go to the Zoom drop-down menu and choose Fit to Window. The Instagram app now resembles the mobile version, complete with the plus sign for posting photos and videos. Click it to open the browser and select what you want to post. If you don't see the plus sign, press F5 to refresh the browser screen. How to Post on Instagram From a Mac Like the PC workaround, the Mac workaround tricks the Safari web browser into thinking you're on an iOS device. Open Safari, go to the Safari menu, then chose Preferences. Alternatively, press Command+, (comma) on the keyboard. Select Advanced. Select the Show Develop menu in menu bar check box. Go to Instagram.com and log in to your account. Select Develop > User Agent > Safari. The Instagram website automatically refreshes and displays the mobile version of the site. Upload your photo as you normally would. If the page doesn't automatically reload, refresh it manually. Use the Instagram for Windows Desktop App The Instagram for Windows desktop app works the same as the web version. You can't post photos or videos, but you can view posts, like and comment, and follow and unfollow users. Instagram for Windows doesn't work with older PCs or Macs, though. Instagram for Windows requires Windows 10 version 10586.0 or higher and 2 GB of RAM. A Microsoft account is needed to download Instagram for Windows. Workarounds for Older Computers If you want to post photos and videos to Instagram from your desktop and you have a Mac or older PC that can't run the Instagram for Windows app, there are some workarounds. BlueStacks BlueStacks is a free Android phone emulator. It emulates the Android version of Instagram on a PC or Mac, enabling you to upload photos to Instagram. An emulator is a software program that simulates a mobile phone operating system (or another type of operating system) on a computer. Install BlueStacks, then download Instagram. Sign in to your Instagram account, and your Instagram feed appears as it does on a phone. Flume Flume is a Mac-only Instagram app that allows you to upload photos, post to Instagram from a Mac, edit photos, and more. It also includes some power user functions the mobile Instagram app doesn't offer, such as hover shortcuts and ways to promote your brand. Email If there's a photo on your desktop computer you want to post on Instagram, a low-tech solution is to email yourself the picture, access that picture from your phone, then post it to Instagram. Dropbox Use Dropbox, the free cloud-based storage app, to share photos on your desktop computer to your mobile device, then access those photos in Instagram. The Best Free Cloud Storage Services for Backup in 2021 Pixlr Pixlr isn't a desktop Instagram workaround. Instead, it's a photo app with features similar to Instagram. Pixlr calls itself a "next-generation online photo editor." Edit Your Photos Online With These 16 Free Image Editing Sites Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit