Posting to Instagram from your estimator is a great choice if you don't have your phone on hand or need to access company assets on your laptop. Or you might just adopt to use a wider screen.

For these reasons and others, you might be wondering, "Tin can I post to Instagram from my computer?" We have some good news.

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Why post on Instagram from your computer?

Instagram is a popular social media network for sharing photos that's most normally accessed through a mobile app. It offers a web version that makes it piece of cake to post avails yous may only take on your laptop and not your phone.

For example, allow'due south say you're a social media managing director for a prominent brand. The last thing you lot desire to practice is have an absentminded mishap where y'all accidentally post brand content to your personal Instagram account (or, worse, vice versa) simply because yous're logged into both on your phone.

Alternatively, it might be easier to upload company posts and videos via your desktop, rather than having your smartphone open at work.

Plus, your company's files might exist more easily accessible via desktop than mobile. For instance, if y'all employ Photoshop to edit visitor photos, it's likely easier to click "Upload" from your desktop when you lot're washed editing, rather than sending that same photo or video to your personal phone.

Perchance you merely prefer the larger screen of desktop. Or, peradventure you lot don't have access to a smartphone so you can't download the app on your phone.

Then there are enough of good reasons to use Instagram on your computer instead. Here's how.

While the social platform is primarily meant to be consumed in-app, information technology offers a nearly identical experience if you access it on your calculator.

On Instagram'due south spider web version, yous can:

  • Watch and reply to other people'due south Stories
  • Search for hashtags and other users
  • Browse your feed
  • Comment and similar posts
  • Reply to straight letters (DMs)
  • View your notifications
  • Access the Explore tab
  • Mail photos and videos to your contour

In other words — Yes, you can post to Instagram from your PC or Mac desktop instead of on your mobile device's app or browser.

Now, let'due south explore how y'all can post images and videos from your desktop calculator.

Whether you're on a Mac or a PC, you can postal service from your desktop reckoner. Instagram'southward web version allows yous to upload an Instagram post the same way you lot would via mobile, regardless of the platform you use. Beneath, we'll talk over how to do it on:

  • Chrome
  • Safari

One time we discuss how you can post photos, nosotros'll besides discuss how to upload a video to Instagram from your desktop.

1. Open your Chrome browser.

The kickoff thing you'll want to practise is open upwardly Google Chrome. If you're on Windows, you can do so past clicking the Windows icon in your job bar. And then, search through the applications you lot've already installed on your figurer until yous find Chrome.

two. Navigate to Instagram's website.

how to post on instagram on desktop: access instagram on chrome

Next, navigate to https://www.instagram.com by typing it into the navigation bar. Log in using your Facebook credentials or by inputting your email, phone number, or username. If you lot've logged into Instagram'south web version before, information technology might include an option to "Continue as [username]," and you'll exist able to automatically log in.

3. Click the "+" button adjacent to the DM symbol.

how to post on instagram on desktop: click the plus buttonInstagram'southward spider web version has a top navigation bar that mirrors the navigation bar on the mobile app. Information technology includes a search bar, a home symbol, a DM symbol, a plus sign, a heart, and a circle with your profile picture. Click the plus sign next to the DM symbol.

4. Click "Select from figurer" to upload your media.

how to post on instagram on desktop: select a file

A popup box will appear with a bluish push that says "Select from computer." Scan until you find the file you'd like to upload.

5. Ingather the image, zoom in, or add more media if needed.

how to post on instagram on desktop: crop the image

Instagram gives you lot several options for editing the image prior to publication. You can change the aspect ratio, zoom in, or add more media to the aforementioned mail service.

The zoom-in option is correct next to the aspect ratio button:

how to post on instagram on desktop: zoom into the image

Yous'll find the "add together more media" button on the lower left-manus corner.

how to post on instagram on desktop: add more media

Click the plus sign to add more images to your post, if desired.

6. Choose a filter or make adjustments.

how to post on instagram on desktop: choose a filterSide by side, cull a filter, only like you would in the app. You can likewise adapt brightness, contrast, saturation, and other features.

how to post on instagram on desktop: make adjustments

Once you lot're done, click Next in the top correct of your screen.

seven. Add a caption, location, alt text, and tags.

how to post on instagram on desktop: add captionOn the next screen, yous'll be able to add a explanation, add a location, or tag people.

8. Click Share.

When you're ready, click Share in the top correct of your screen.

Done! Y'all've at present posted on Instagram using Chrome.

one. Open up your Safari browser.

The first affair yous'll want to do is open up Safari. To exercise so, open up Launchpad and find Safari in your listing of applications. Alternatively, if you have it pinned in your chore bar, you tin can open it from there.

2. Navigate to Instagram'southward website.

how to post on instagram on desktop: access instagram on safariNext, navigate to https://www.instagram.com by typing it into Safari'south navigation bar. If y'all visit the site oftentimes enough, Safari may too have a shortcut in your "New tab" page.

Once you get there, login with your preferred credentials. If you've already used the web version in the past, Instagram will allow you to log in with one click.

3. Follow steps 3 to 8 from the instructions above.

Once you are able to view Instagram from your Safari browser, you can upload an Instagram post the same way you would on Chrome — past clicking the "+" button, adding a filter or editing the photograph, adding a location and caption, and clicking "Share" when you're ready for your post to get live.

Want to upload a video instead?

How to Post a Video to Instagram Using a Desktop Computer

You can upload videos to Instagram from your desktop — which makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to share professionally-shot videos that may not be readily available on your phone. That means you tin can share marketing videos and shoots yous received from a freelancer or your in-house videographer.

Here's how to post a video to Instagram on any web browser.

1. Head to the Instagram website on your preferred browser.

Once you're at that place, log in using your credentials.

2. Click the "+" button next to the DM symbol.

Merely like y'all would if you were posting a photo, click the + button in the top navigation bar of your Instagram feed.

three. Click "Select from figurer" to upload your media.

how to post on instagram on desktop: select a file

Select your video file from the computer. We recommend uploading an MP4 file to avert compatibility issues.

If your video is less than 10 minutes long, your file size should be no bigger than 650 MB. For videos between ten minutes and 60 minutes (which is the maximum length), you should aim for a file size smaller than iii.6GB. Read more about Instagram's video requirements here.

4. Resize your video and add together more media if desired.

how to post video to instagram on desktop: resize videoInstagram gives you lot two options for adjusting your video: Changing the aspect ratio and adding more media. For photos, Instagram as well allows you to zoom into the moving picture. The option isn't available for videos.

If you're uploading a horizontal video, we recommend using a 16:9 aspect ratio then that information technology's not cut off. If you're worried about the aesthetics of your feed, stick to a 1:1 ratio. That way, in that location isn't any white infinite when visitors visit your profile.

5. Choose a encompass photo, trim the video, and toggle sound options.

how to post video to instagram on desktop: choose cover

Next, you can cull a cover photo (the image users will see before they click "Play"). You lot have the selection of uploading a custom cover photo for the video, and you lot can besides trim the video and turn the sound off if desired.

6. Write a caption, tag other users, add alt text, and toggle commenting options.

how to post video to instagram on desktop: write captionIn the adjacent screen, you tin can write a caption for your video, tag anyone who appears in the video, add together alt text, and disable commenting.

seven. Click Share.

Done! You lot've now posted your video on Instagram.

Alternative Ways to Postal service to Instagram from Your Computer

You don't take to admission Instagram's web version to post on Instagram. If you find the web version to be too lacking for your day-to-day tasks, especially if you're a social media managing director, you can apply a third-party service that offers social media scheduling software.

HubSpot'due south social media management tool is 1 of the all-time options you tin can use to schedule Instagram posts from your desktop — no demand to access the Instagram app or website itself.

Hither'due south one example of united states of america scheduling a video post for Instagram using Social Inbox:

posting to instagram from computer using hubspot's social inbox

The keen benefit of using this method is that y'all can schedule posts well in accelerate. Yous don't have to admission Instagram every fourth dimension y'all want to add new media to your profile.

If yous're doing this regularly for your job, it might be worthwhile to explore all the social media scheduling tools at your disposal to choose the one best-suited for your business' needs.

Using Instagram Like the Pro Yous Are

At present that you don't have to worry about transferring photos to your mobile device or juggling your work's social media account on your ain device, yous'll be able to abound on Instagram efficiently and finer. From there, the sky is the limit for creating posts and growing your audience in a scalable fashion.

Editor'due south note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Originally published November 4, 2021 3:00:00 PM, updated November fifteen 2021