How to Upload to Instagram from Your Desktop

Since this whole debacle with Flickr a few days ago, many virtual world residents have been spreading their wings and have joined Instagram to share their work. If you have also joined Instagram, feel free to follow me: Instagram.com/strawberrysinghvr I have been trying to follow back all Second Life accounts, except those that are set to private or have a lot of nudity/adult content. Adult content or nudity can get you banned from Instagram by the way.

How I currently upload to Instagram – I don’t use desktop

A lot of you have asked me how I upload my pictures to Instagram. I’ve tried a number of ways through my desktop, but now I’ve settled on just using the regular mobile way, which I’m happy pretty happy with. In August I purchased a big 10 inch Asus tablet (this is an Amazon affiliate link) that I use only for my virtual life activities and I also use it to play Kim Kardashian Hollywood (don’t judge me, I’m an addict!) I upload/backup all of my second life and other virtual world images to my Google Photos after I process them in Photoshop. Doing that enables me to access them on my tablet using the Google Photos app. Then I’m able to upload my images directly into Instagram through the Google Photos app on my tablet.

For Instagram Business Accounts

So how can you upload to Instagram directly from your desktop? Before I share links and info about that, I do want to recommend you think about switching your Instagram account to a Business account. There are many reasons to do this, two of which is that you get free stats (Insights) and also then you are not at the risk of breaking Instagram guidelines by uploading to Instagram from desktop. In January 2018 Instagram announced their new Graph API which allows Business Instagram accounts to schedule and directly upload their posts using Instagram approved Partners on their desktop. Technically, if you do not have an Instagram Business account then you are not really supposed to upload directly from desktop using third party apps. Instagram prefers it if non-business accounts use their mobile app for uploading. That’s why I highly recommend switching to a Business Account, it doesn’t cost anything to do that and the benefits are great.

Here are the Instagram Approved Partners that I have used to upload directly from my desktop:

• Hootsuite – Hootsuite is a social media management platform. You can use it to schedule and directly post on a variety of social networks, including Instagram. I used their free plan, so it didn’t cost me anything to schedule and post directly to Instagram from my desktop.
• Buffer – is an app for the web and mobile, designed to manage accounts in social networks, by providing the means for a user to schedule posts and have them post directly. I used their free plan as well, and was able to schedule and post directly to Instagram from my desktop.

Check this link to see more Instagram Approved Partners. Just remember, you must have an Instagram Business account in order to use them.

For Non-Business Instagram Accounts

If you don’t want to switch to a business account there are other ways to post directly from your desktop, but most of them might get your account banned so be careful using them. Here are a few methods I have either tried or heard of when I was uploading to Instagram directly from my computer:

• Gramblr – Gramblr is a desktop application that allows you to upload pictures or videos on Instagram. You just have to download this application to your computer, they have Windows and MAC versions available. Once downloaded, install and then login to your Instagram and start uploading your images directly from your computer. I used this a few times when I first started using Instagram but I noticed soon after that Instagram kind of froze my account so I wasn’t able to upload images anymore. Then I did some Googling and found out that this happened to a few people, where their accounts got banned or frozen for using Gramblr. I don’t remember exactly how I got my account back, just that I had to give some information to Instagram and then they gave it back to me. I uninstalled this and stopped using it. I know there are people that still use Gramblr without any issues, but I personally don’t recommend it.
• BlueStacks –  The BlueStacks App Player is designed to enable Android applications to run on PCs running Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh. You can install BlueStacks and then set it up so you can upload to Instagram directly from desktop. I haven’t used this technique so can’t verify if it’s safe to use and works well.
• Use your Computer’s Browser – This page will show you how to use your computer’s browser to upload directly to Instagram. It does not require you to install anything on your computer. It shows you how to enable the developer options in your Chrome, Firefox or Safari Browsers and from there you are able to login to the Instagram website and upload directly from the browser. I have not tried this method myself, but it looks easy enough to do. I am not sure if this breaks the Instagram guidelines since it is a work around and you are not using any third party app.

My Recommendation

For those not wanting to change to a Business account, but still looking for a safe way to upload via desktop, I do have a recommendation but it still requires you to have a mobile device to do the actual post on Instagram.

• Later.com – This is a marketing platform for Instagram which lets you visually plan and schedule Instagram posts. It is free to use. You can use it to upload your image to their website and schedule your posts with description and hashtag and everything. Then you install their app on your mobile device and it copies straight from the app into your Instagram app so you can post it from their app directly. This is one way you can upload your picture and schedule your posts directly from desktop, but you still need a mobile device to actually post it to Instagram. The image will be already loaded on your device through the Later.com app and ready for you to post. If you have a Business account, you can set it up to auto-post to Instagram as well, but again, since it’s not on their approved partners list, I’m not sure if it’s safe to go that route.

I hope this post helps you decide how to post to Instagram. I’ve decided to just use my Asus Tablet and post through the app the regular way because I feel like I have more control of the filters and hashtags that way. I also find the mobile app a lot more fun to use. If you use Google Photos to back up all your images like I do, then your image will already be on your mobile device through the Google Photos app and you can upload directly to Instagram from there. Honestly I feel like this method works brilliantly for me. I hope you find a method that works just as well for you.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!

UPDATE: A few people have asked how I made the image (nametag) in this post. It’s a new option in Instagram, you can read how you can make your own nametag (or scan mine and others, to easily follow people) at this link.