Heads up: you can now upload photos to Instagram from a desktop browser… using a special, unofficial trick. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how it’s done.
Since Instagram was first released, it has only allowed users to create new posts using the official Instagram app. There are some options for posting images using third-party apps, but none are officially supported. Using them runs the risk of being shadow banned, which stops your posts from showing up in hashtag or location searches for around a week.
Shadow bans seem to be becoming more common as Instagram cracks down on the unauthorized use of their API. The biggest recent example of this crackdown is the closure of Instagress, which was a botting service that automatically followed users and liked posts.
These restrictions mean that to be safe, you have to use Instagram’s app to make posts. In the Apple ecosystem at least, the app is made only for mobile – there is no iPad equivalent. You can still run the iPhone version of the app on an iPad, but it stretches to fit the screen and looks pretty nasty. Apparently there are also still humans using the Blackberry, and there is no official app for them either.
The good news is that it appears Instagram has finally made it possible to post images from their website. This opens up posting content for any user with a mobile device. By default this feature is available on any phone or tablet Web browser, but not on your desktop.
But there’s a simple way to circumvent this restriction: by using a method called User Agent spoofing. The User Agent is a text string sent along with every request made by a web browser, and it includes details about your browser version and operating system. By spoofing the User Agent, you can tell websites that you are using a mobile device even when you’re not.
Keep in mind that it’s unclear whether Instagram might shadow ban users for using this method. Shadow bans appear to be reserved for users who are using third-party apps or services to post to Instagram, and this method uses the official website. So far I personally have had no issues, but it’s worth noting that there might be some risk.
With that in mind, here is how you can spoof your user agent and upload to Instagram from your desktop browser!
First, make sure the feature is enabled for you.
Because this feature seems to be rolling out only to selected accounts for now, you should first check that it works on an actual mobile device. Just open Instagram in your mobile browser and log in. You should see the usual toolbar, but now with the camera icon in the middle. You may also see an Open in app button, which you can ignore.
If you see the camera icon, the feature is enabled for you! If not, you might have to wait it out. We are not sure yet why this is only appearing for some accounts.
Spoof your UA in Safari for MacOS
If you use Safari on a Mac, spoofing your user agent is actually built in to the browser! You just need to enable the Developer menu. If you’ve done that already, you can skip ahead.
Enable Developer menu
First, go to Preferences either by clicking Safari>Preferences… in the menubar, or using the shortcut ⌘,.
In the dialog that opens, go to Advanced and enable Show Develop in menu bar
You’ll now see a new ‘Develop’ option in your menubar.
Spoof!
Now, go to instagram.com. Pop open your fancy new Develop menubar option, and go to User Agent>Safari – iOS 10 – iPad. You could also choose iPhone or iPod; it doesn’t really matter.
The page will reload and you will see the camera icon in the toolbar, just like on your mobile device. Clicking it will prompt you to select an image from your computer, and will then show the preview.
You can crop to a square or rotate the image, but not add filters. Go ahead and hit Next, enter your caption, and Share. Done!
Spoof your UA in Chrome
The easiest way to do this in Chrome is to use an extension creatively called User-Agent Switcher for Chrome, which you can find in the Chrome web store.
Once installed, you’ll have a new icon in your toolbar. Click it, select iOS and then iPad (or iPhone).
The page will reload and you will see the camera icon in the toolbar, just like on your mobile device. Clicking it will prompt you to select an image from your computer, and will then show the preview.
You can crop to a square or rotate the image, but not add filters. Go ahead and hit Next, enter your caption, and Share. Done!
Note that the User-Agent Switcher for Chrome extension will keep your user-agent set to iPad or iPhone if you leave Instagram and visit other websites. To reset it, click the icon again and select Chrome>Default
Hopefully Instagram will open up a little bit in the future and natively allow posting from the desktop, so we no longer have to use this little trick. These days, many users are posting images from their DSLRs just as frequently as photos taken with their phones.
In the meantime, this saves a little bit of time and effort when trying to post photos that live on your computer.
About the author: Jayphen is a nomadic photographer and designer from Sydney who’s currently based in Budapest. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can find more of his work and writing on his website and Instagram.
