STOP! You are welcome to read this post and understand the background on my search for a complete solution to posting images to Instagram from the Web.
However, if you just want to cut to the chase and get to a solution that works, read this article instead. Of all the solutions I have tried, it is the best.
–Sean
| UPDATE: If you found this post via the search engines, definitely read through the various options below, but also check out this newer post that covers using HootSuite for posting photos from your desktop PC or Mac to Instagram. I have used the Dropbox method detailed below for almost 2 years now and it still works fine, and I really consider it to be the easiest, fastest way to upload your photos from your Mac or PC desktop to Instagram. If, though, you use Hootsuite on a regular basis, you might consider using the Hootsuite method. |
Well…it’s happened again. I’ve stumbled across another one of those social media tasks that should be soooo simple, yet isn’t. Similar to my articles on switching between Twitter mobile and desktop and reorganizing your Facebook photos,
I expect that there are a lot of people out there searching for the answer to this one too. From family and friend, as well as SocMedSean.com readers, I have gotten the same question numerous times.
How do I upload photos from my digital camera, desktop PC or Mac to Instagram?
I found my solution to this problem after returning from a much-needed family vacation from social media via a Disney cruise to the Bahamas. After the trip, I had tons of photos stored on my digital camera.
I wanted to share some of them via Instagram, but since they aren’t on my phone or my table, I found I couldn’t share them. You see, unlike Facebook, Instagram doesn’t offer any way to upload photos from the Web interface.
So, I turned to Google for ways to upload my photos to Instagram from my deskotp. Here are some queries that I tried to find a solution:
- Upload photos Instagram from my desktop
- Upload photos from a PC to Instagram
- Add photos to Instagram via the Web
- Instagram workaround for uploading photos
- App for uploading Instagram photos from PC or Mac
- Upload Instagram photos from my computer
Unfortunately, all of these queries really pointed to the same set of outdated (and now non-functional) tips, hints, workarounds and “solutions”.
I gave them a try to see if they worked and then found the one that seemed to be the easiest and worked flawlessly.
Yes, you can post photos to Instagram directly from your desktop. Here's how. Click To TweetClosest Solution #1 – Use Gramblr.com
The first out of date solution is to use a product called Gramblr. This app is a desktop app that says it allows you to upload photos from your PC directly to Instagram. The problem is that the app isn’t available. Right on their front page, they acknowledge that they’re working out issues with the Mac version of their software, but when you click the link to the PC version of the download, you get a 404 error.
Booo!
Unfortunately Gramblr Is Not A Solution For Uploading Photos To Instagram Via The Web
| UPDATE: Per my note at the top of this post. Gramblr.com is now available and does allow you to update via your desktop. So far, it’s the easiest solution available that doesn’t require a mobile device. If you don’t like the Dropbox solution outlined below (which is what I use), check out Gramblr. |
Non-Solution #2 – Use BlueStacks
The second recommendation, from CNet, is to use an app emulator called BlueStacks. This was one of the worst, cludgy, and non-functional suggestions that I tried. I installed BlueStacks just fine, then installed the Android version of Instagram and then fired it up.
I could browse, like and comment on the photos just fine, albeit horribly slow (and I have a pretty beefy PC). However, when I tried to add a photo, no go.
The article says:
To upload a photo from your desktop, click the camera button, then select the polaroid icons in the lower-right of the app window. This will prompt you to select a photo from your drive. (If you use Instagram on Android, this entire process will be familiar.) Then, edit and upload the photo as usual.
Unfortunately, the Android version that is specifically called out in this article, doesn’t allow you to browse the local file structure on your PC.
Sure, I could take an additional step and install ES File Explorer, map a network drive to my PC folders via IP address and then share…but that’s a LOT of extra steps and work just to share a photo.
BlueStacks was cludgy and didn’t allow for access to the file system on your PC or Mac, so it’s not good for uploading photos to Instagram
So…BlueStacks is out as a potential solution.
Somewhat Solution #3 – Use Botio
I call Botio.net a “somewhat solution” because, while it might work, I don’t recommend it.
You see, Botio asks you for your Instagram username and password. I’m not comfortable passing that information through a site/application that I know nothing about so I chose not to try it.
NOTE: I don’t recommend giving your social network passwords to any third party app. That’s just asking to be part of a future hack. If the developers aren’t savvy enough to use Instagram’s Web services and authentication services, then they probably aren’t really focused on security.
Like I said, I don’t recommend it, but if you decide to give it a try it claims to allow you to upload one photo at a time via their Web interface. If you try it, let us know how it works by adding a comment.
Botio requires that you pass a username and password to upload photos to Instagram
So, at least for me for security reasons…Botio is out.
The Best Solution (For Me, Anyway) – Use Dropbox To Store And Upload The Photos
So all those “solutions” that tout allowing you to upload photos from your PC or Mac….they don’t. And there’s probably a good reason for that. Instagram was designed to be a mobile app, capturing the world around you via your phone.
They didn’t build an upload interface because that’s not how they saw the app being used. But…since humans are humans, we often use the app in ways that differ from how the developers intended it.
Soo…the workaround.
The fastest and easiest way to share your photos to Instagram from your PC or Mac desktop is just to use Dropbox. Dropbox is a great free app that allows you to easily share photos and files from your desktop to mobile phone or tablet, so I just dropped the photos I wanted to share in a Dropbox folder on my PC and then shared them from my Android tablet.
Easy-peezy-rice-and-cheezy!
Dropbox takes 2 minutes to install on your PC and then you can create as many folders as you’d like.
I created a folder called “Cruise” and then just dropped the photos into the folder.
Dropbox provides the solution for uploading photos to Instagram from your desktop PC or Mac
Then I headed over to my tablet, where I had the Dropbox app installed and then long-pressed on the photo to open it in the Photo Gallery.
From there, I could share directly to Instagram.
Note: The Android Dropbox app doesn’t allow you to share directly to Instagram, so that’s the reason for opening the photo in the gallery first. Once you open the photo in your gallery, you can edit it, crop it, add text, etc…and then upload it to Instagram using the Share feature.
There you have it. Three non-solutions and one decent solution to allow you to share photos from your desktop or digital camera to Instagram.
There is an actual method to upload photos from your PC or Mac to Instagram. Here's how. Click To TweetI hope these helps and would love to hear about any other workarounds out there.
Cheers!
–Sean
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when this stupid instagram developpers will handle a correct web application if they are not clever enough i can help them
This was a really helpful article. Has anyone heard about/tried Binfer? The site is https://www.binfer.com/products/sync
I use the developer mode in Chrome to upload and it’s so easy and incredible! Here’s the link how to do it https://sassytownhouseliving.com/post-instagram-chrome/
I work from a Mac and Gramblr works just fine.
Instagram is such an ahole of a program. It’s forced its way into the professional world, and yet it makes it impossible to upload from desktop. I hate their guts until the end of time.
this is a very outdated post. U can just download the Instagram app for PC from Windows store. You’re welcome!
-iosyaf.tumblr.com
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a1cf0d29e2f73b5dabf864dfb7b5b2bf9220d904f10689342b8a94ae5f27eb7f.png
very gooood
This is getting more and more annoying. Instagram for Windows 10 is as worthless as tits on a bull. The stupid thing can find any of the images from my camera roll and instead has 2 images that aren’t even on my pc. All the flippin apps everyone in here is suggesting have all ripped their sites down. Why the frick should I have to fork over $80 a year for a stupid ass piece of software to get another stupid ass piece of software to accept my images. This is the new wave of on-line marketing? I give it 6 months before someone hunts down instagram and goes postal for making it so hard to use as a busy business person
The problem with your explanation that was a reasonable explanation 4 or 5 years ago, is also invalid like the tools you mentioned. Instagram is heavily pushing their Social Media for business accounts. How many business people do you know of that want to spend 30 minutes figuring out how to upload a frickin video or image. Why the hell does instagram have to make it so hard? If they want to compete with Pinterest and Facebook and Google+ as a valid business app they need to seriously rethink their model.
I have been using https://follownotify.com/ to Schedule my Posts, Increase my Followers & Grow my Business as if we have real & targeted followers, then we can get better conversion. I Recommend you all to Test it as i am very conscious about my Money & Time!
not a real solutions
another Post on Instagram website https://kingweb.biz
No need to download any software on desktop.
One drive,dropbox support
Seriously, Instagram, you are garbage if you can’t do this…
I tried with the gramblr, however, it showed me that connection timed out
when i tried to sign up an account? Can you tell me how to deal with it? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/000e446514a2c603ec182c7875a04b1e41e9eece0e495f6d9cff4a4b8fe99d12.png
Thanks in advance!
Thanks for sharing this solution. Quite helpful.
TIQS
Hello , Thanks For This Great Post i Want To Mention That You Can Upload photos directly from your Computer Browser to your Instagram account without needing your phone, schedule Instagram posts by creating a calendar to publish on the required day and time to get more followers, and manage multiple accounts and post on any account at the same time Using https://www.InstaGhost.com
Downloading different apps on laptop is difficult and not convenient way for some users. For example, I’ve got not enought storage on my laptop, so I found another way to schedule pics in Instagram.
The best online tool that I ever tried for uploading and scheduling photos from PC is http://www.push.photo. I have been using it for 6 month and it works great!
Finally, there’s a new and improved way to do this completely free and Instagram have made it possible. They’ve just launched a mobile version of their site. Sure, this may sound underwhelming but this is huge if you want to use Instagram on desktop.
Load up developer tools and view the page as a mobile device, then you can use Instagram just like in the app. You can rad the full details over here: http://goos3d.ie/instagram-desktop-1-quick-hack-lets-post-instagram-desktop/
Gramblr is the best. I tried this and loved it.
Gramblr now asks you for your Instagram username and password too, so… :/
it is possible to add a photo from you PC to Instagram using the bluestacks +Instagram app – yes specifically a photo from your pc (in my case a windows 10 folder). but that is ‘A’ photo..not several. I guess restarting it would let a second one be uploaded. rubbish.
Hi everyone. I have been using Piktoria(https://piktoria.com) for scheduling posts on Instagram.
The good thing about this tool is that they really post using a real device and not some hacks.
Why its good then? Instagram treats those posts as if they are coming from a real device and hence it does not breaks your hashtags and presence. I have used Deskgram and Gramblr in past but I found out that the hashtags that I have used were not visible when I search them on Instagram
This is interesting. Can I try it before paying?
I think they have a 14-day free trial in which you get 20 or 30 posts free to try out the tool. I would suggest, subscribe to a plan as apart from scheduling posts they give other features like search Instagram posts based on location, monitor a hashtag’s performance or see how well you are performing against your competitor brand (this is the reason I subscribed actually – discovered there scheduler later.)
Previously, I’ve used Buffer for Instagram automation but it sends me a notification all the time before posting anything. I mean, what kind of automation is that 🙁 Just one question: I manage 5 Instagram accounts for my client’s so will it be possible to manage all of them from 1 dashboard OR do I have to create 5 different Piktoria accounts for that?
I can understand your pain 🙂
Even I am running a small agency and have connected 2-3 accounts. Yes, you can manage all those accounts through a single login username and password.
Bluestacks is the worst – it crashes every time now, since January of 2016. I tried to install a home design app for my site, only to have it reject the code outright. The Windows store Instagram app wont let you upload photos – only send them to friends. what use is that?!?!?
Theres an official app in the Windows Store now
That is for Win 10 only. Not everyone is using it.
Instapic works perfectly with no issues so far, using on windows 10 acer laptop. it’s in the app store
Probably THE MOST helpful blog about uploading content from your computer. Thank you so much Sean, you ROCK!
Thanks! Very helpful.
Re Dropbox option, but isn’t what is needed is to be able for one to sit before his desktop and post the photos direct from there onto Instagram, right?
I have a Mac and can’t figure out how to download from drop box to instagram. “Long-pressed to open it in photo gallery”? Help?
I don’t like to say bad stuff about things i’m not familiar with, but i tried deskgram and it froze my PC three times in a row so i had to restart it all over again. Maybe smth is wrong with the PC, but i doubt that. I use Zengram to post from desktops. You just log in, press upload button and choose the picture – done. No installatons or browser plug-ins. I kind of freaked out when i learned i have to enter my login and password, but nothing suspicious were spotted during these six month i’ve been using it.
This is no longer available it seems
Has anyone else tried https://getyounity.com? I discovered it about a year ago and I swear it’s changed my IG life lol. I don’t have to worry about synching or uploading to a cloud service, younity gives me strait up access to my entire Lightroom catalog stored on my PC. It’s a totally free service and really easy to setup, considering it’s basically a mobile media server. I found this video on their blog that explains their IG intergration feature: https://youtu.be/ro0e8y95svA
Thank you for the article
Helpful and if allowed will I distribute to my other friend
^^
http://bungaasi.com/botol-susu-tommee-tippee/
Gramblr works. Thanks!!!
this is good, if you have a tablet i no longer have my iphone and i have no smart phone. i would like to find a way to upload directly off my laptop to instagram
What is the best way to manage multiple accounts? Any workarounds or solutions. I cannot find anything reasonable. Similar to multiple acct. managers fror Facebook and Google apps.
I just downloaded the installer today (in zip) but it won’t let me extract it to my laptop 🙁
I use Windows 8 and my internet connection was more than fine when I was downloading the file. I’ve tried to download it 3 times and the problem is still same.
Anyone have the same problem?
Check https://postaddict.me post to instagram photos and videos
I want to add one more way for upload pohoto to instagram from PC https://push.photo/
there’s a better solution for this – try : http://www.massplanner.com/instagram-poster/
Latergram, people. Latergram.
i use web.whatsapp.com, send my photo on pc to one of myself numbers via web.whatsapp.com, then download the photo on my phone’s whatsapp, so easy and no problem.
What a piece of crap “solution”… what kind of “from your desktop” solution is that if you have to use your phone??? You’d better say that you don’t have any solution at all than trying to make us feel as incompetent as you seem to be… Do not post something if it’s not a solution… **WASTE OF TIME**
I think deskgam.com is the best site ever!!
I just love it. You can easily upload photos from your pc to instagram
Or simply use this if you are a Mac user: http://vox.vg/apps/instagramic/
pusham.com – another one service for post photos to instagram from pc or mac.
Now there’s also push bullet, where you can ‘push’ things to your devices, they have a chrome extension as well!
If you’d just buy Mac products then there wouldn’t be an issue, would there? Assimilate.
Share your photo stream to the cloud and they are already on your phone or tablet to post. Pretty simple.
Willl Gamblr work on a Mac running Yosemite?
wow very nice trick.. I really like it so much .really grate article …thanks for quotes
Thanks – helpful. I set up an album in Iphoto and set it up to sync to my phone. works easy peasy.
Hi Sean,
Wanted to let you know about another solution: Latergramme ( http://latergram.me )
It’s not completely automated like Gramblr, (the Latergramme app uses the IG app on your phone) however this is because Instagram’s Terms of Service disallow fully automated systems (and your account may be at risk if you do use fully automated systems)
Also – Latergramme is free for the basic account
Disclaimer: I’m one of the founders of Latergramme so could be slightly biased!
It won’t let you install the app if you use a pay-as-you-go plan, like Tracfone. Boo!
only deskgram.com works
life saviour! lots of loves…thanks sean!! xoxxoxox
Gamblr freezes my PC completely. Had to delete the program and run my CC Cleaner. Someone suggested emailing photos from your to yourself and post from your phone.
grambler o fucking stupid!!! square photo? what does square look like then because all photos are square. who wrote this fucked up code?
Gramblr works great for me and all of my hashtags are there.
BlueStacks freezes itself at the “edition’ stage, for ages now.
Gramblr stops at the “saving caption” stage (or, if you try to upload a photo without a caption, it simply says “try again”) for 3 days.
Botio says “file upload temporary disabled due to technical reasons”.
Any other options, guys? Any other sites/programmes?
Someone suggested emailing photos from your to yourself and post from your phone.
Your business you can use email to personally invite people to http://epicbeaver.com/buy-instagram-followers/If you are connecting to 5 people per month which connects to Facebook you have 60 years of fans from this method.The Facebook is worlds no 1 social networking website Facebook is leading in online social networking the purpose of using Facebook for business purposes is not only selling products or services But it acts.
Thank you very much for sharing this useful information. I tried Gramblr. But sometimes it shows problem. You can visit my website: http://pc-helping.blogspot.com
Subscribe my YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MVideoTips
My instagram username: @jamilfahad97
What a wonderful article offering Non-How-To guidance.
If you cannot use instagram in bluestack because hang or not working, you can use duos-m for alternative……
A new website claims that they can upload Images from PC. I checked and it works perfect. check it out. deskgram.com
Great site! Thanks for this great acknowledge
Hi, I have small local business (flower shop)
and I already use instagram for marketing . Now I use http://push.photo/ for instagram posting
from my laptop use 3 months and all is well
I want to know that why I suddenly cant log into my instagram account in deskgram
try now. it should be working now.
I also tried deskgram.com and I think it is the one and only best website I used to upload any type of photos to my Instagram account
costs money to upload video !
At the top of my desktop page there is a collection of my pictures that alternate. Problem is it only covers the first 4 rows of my pics. Is there any way to make it include all my pics?
Hey, i used gramblr when trying to download it and open the zip file, it said it was only for windows, help? I’m using a mac.
i can’t even download gamblr on my mac
You can also make an album in Iphoto then fill it up with photos and transfer that album to your phone in itunes. Then upload those photos to Instagram.
Use Dropbox to get your pics onto your tablet? Wow, that is real rocket science. 🙂
And still it takes several clicks to upload a single pic to Instagram.
If you use Dropbox then you should use Dropsync, too. That way you can fully syncronise (or only upload) a folder to your tablet or Smartphone. After that you can use the gallery.
Gramblr isn’t working anymore, it did once. (Literally)
theres no solution.
i dont want a shitty smartphone.
gramblr stops after edit my caption…….
There is a solution
try deskgram.com
It works.
thanks a lot
i installed grumbler on my mac and now my hastags don’t work either. anyone has a solution? i will not ever use this program again, but how do i make the hashtags working again for my instaaccount? pliiiz
Hi Anna, I faced the same problem with gramblr. Do one thing, just reset your Instagram password and try using a different tool for automated posting. I would suggest Piktoria (https://piktoria.com)
Any idea on how to upload video from desktop?
I tried Gramblr now (Mar 9, 2014) and it wont launch. I t says qt5webkit.dll is missing from my computer. I have a windows 7 PC.
Do not use Gramblr it broke my instagram account so now my hashtags don’t work. Even if I upload a photo from my iPhone app. Lots of other people have reported this as well. If anyone knows how to fix please share =D
Nice tips for sharing photos and pics to the instagram from desktops and personal systems.
I use Gramblr. It work .but you must have square size photo ready on computer.
My wife has 8,290 pics and videos on her iPhone that I want to get on Instagram. How on earth, without losing my mind, am I going to do that? Any help would be greatly appreciated…
Just downloaded Gramblr for my Mac (OSX 10.7.5). The file unzipped just fine, but when I tried to install it, it said it couldn’t do it. I double clicked on the program to install it and it said it had an error and that it couldn’t be installed. #FML
Well, I used Gamblr and didn’t like that it accessed the web, soooo I went a different route. In your graphics program in edit resize your image to 650 pixels to 650 pixels since that is what Instagram requires. Uncheck the box that says constrain proportions or unlink the link that ties width and heighth together. Then rename picture. Upload pic from Gambler it bypasses resizing using the web. I have had no problems with this other than you have to login to the program every time.
gramblr doesnt work for me it keeps rejecting altho i have resized the pic
I already downloaded GRAMBLR and couldn’t get it to work. It downloaded fine,but it keeps rejecting my photos again and again eventhough the pic resolution is 650×650 px. I tried to crop again and again but sigh it keeps rejecting~ how to solve it? thanks
Great instagram desktop software. I am looking for this function so lone
Geez, I always copy my photos from my DSLR camera to my mac, do some photoshop-ing then sending them by email. from me, by me. open them on my iPhone, download them then post them to instagram.
Thanks for a better and faster solution!
This was very helpful. I was looking for an alternative to BlueStacks and Gramblr is just the app that I need. Thank you. Cheers!
Thank you! I tried the first two, and they both didn’t suit. Dropbox hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Thanks so much for this! I was just about to try BlueStacks when I decided to do a tiny bit more research, and I’m so glad I did because the Dropbox solution you suggested was so simple to setup and use.
This is just what I needed! Thanks!
Hi Mr. Sean,
Did you encounter the same problem that upon posting a photo from gramblr, my hashtags are not working anymore..
Dude your a hero
Glad to help, Gracie!
–Sean
hi, i used gramblr, and i successfully uploaded one photo, after that I uploaded a photo straight from the app, there is one problem, my hashtags does not work anymore, when I clicked on my hashtag, it does not appear on the hashtag feed even though my account is public, please help, thanks a lot
did you find a solution for the problem with the hashtags….im having the same issues..thanks
Haha! This query has been a Bain in my existence for 3 months now. I used to be an Instagram champ, having lived and worked in beautiful mountains of Western NC, SC, CO, and AK, snapping pics & uploading them like a boss from the comfort of my DROID device.
Then I moved to Panama for a project.
DROID phone didn’t work and the company gave me a Blackberry. No bueno. Blackberry does not offer the Instagram app, but instead of using my DROID as a camera (which I should’ve been doing), I used the Blackberry and digital camera, thinking I could upload from the laptop later. Ooooops.
Are 3 months of capturing some amazing photos on my digiCanon, now I have dozens that I’d really LOVE to share with my Instabuddies.
I have an iPad, but wasn’t sure how to get my photos from my digi to the iPad, using the iPad to work with Instagram (Only the iPhone app is available, but works on iPad).
iCloud? Dropbox? Gramblr?
Glad I found this article. It was the very first one that comes up in any web search!
You tha’ man!
I’m going to work on getting some photos uploaded today.
Reckon I’ll try the Gramblr app first. I’ll post again and share my trials.
try using deskgram.com
Great post, I’ve been trying to figure out how to post my pictures from desktop for a while so this is great, Thanks!
Fantastic! As a DIY blogger, I am so frustrated that my gorgeous DSLR pics are not on Instagram. I love Dropbox, thanks for the warning on the other programs, I was about to try one. Great article. Awesome tips.
I’ve been searching for a solution to post from desktop. Gramblr seems to be working again! So, thank you 🙂
I dont really have a phone and I was looking for the instagram button but all there was is a fb, twitter and email icon. I thought this was supposed to send photos from pc to instagram. why isnt it working
see this could be useful but i need to be able to use instagram without a phone so in a way not so helpful
i can’t download on this laptop…are there any options that do not require downloading or installing?
i hope it works
my laptop is slow
so it may not work
im trying bluestacks first
and then gramblr
pray for the best!
Did Gramblr work for you?
[UNSOLVED] i thought that i would be able to upload photos to instagram from my pc. dropbox doesnt do that, botios offline, my computer doesnt allow gramblr, and i need a higher version of windows for cnet!
any other solutions?
email me at
[email protected] PLEASE HALP ME
forget all that, most smart phones i.e. iPhones and androids have their chargers that can also be used a USB, just detach from adapter and plug into pc with phone connected. Once connected, wait sec, look at phone, choose to mount. A icon will appear on desktop like any other memory device. transfer photos you want to share onto it. Unmount, go to your phone photo gallery, find photos, and share like you would normally do!
your welcome!
Check me out at Facebook.com/photosbyrauljr
Definitely try Gramblr now. It seems to be working better, but only 1 image at a time.
Hope that helps!
–Sean
I tried Gramblr today and couldn’t get it to work. It downloaded fine, but it kept rejected my pics because it said it had to be a square image (650×650). I reset my pics and could never get it to accept one. I know how to crop and resize, but no matter what I did it kept telling me it had to be a square. I know what a square is! Ha. Ever run into this?
I agree!
use bluestacks and download dropbox within that & you will then be able to upload photos from your desktop.
Hey guys,
There is a much much much easier way that this. If you guys are on Wifi at home and don’t want something that chews your downloads try an app on your phone called WifiExplorer. Basically it sets up its own IP address on your local network (that way you don’t get charged for downloads pushing it out to the web – not only that but Dropbox really sucks for speed when syncing). Open the app in your phone. It will show a toast notification in the middle of your screen with an IP address. Put the IP address in to your PC browser and within 2 seconds you see your whole phone SD card what ever appear similar to Windows explorer but in your web browser. Drag and drop or go to file upload and choose all the pics you want, and click upload to your phone. Within a short while (much less time that what dropbox takes to sync) you are posting your pics via the instragram app on your phone. Done! minus the long wait.
Also short of that did anyone consider using the USB cord provided with your phone?? Might be a great place to start?
Well played!
Darn it! I was hoping there was a way to do this from the PC. With so many PR firms adding Instagram requirements to their blogger outreach, it’s made finding a solution a must for me. I like to edit my photos before posting and I HATE to do that on my mobile device.
So frustrating. I was excited that some mentioned Grambler worked for them but they’ve pulled the software because of problems and said it’d be back up on the 28th – that was 3 days ago.
Thanks for saving me the time of looking for a solution. I guess I’ll just have to use my SkyDrive but that’s completely annoying.
Thanks, this really helps 🙂
None of these are real solutions. You still have to access IG from your tablet or mobile device. Why can’t we have someone create a desktop app to do the same thing?
And as far as uploading your photos from dropbox or from any device, IG is so anal that most of the time the pic is cropped automatically that you can’t see the entire image. You need ANOTHER app to resize your pic or image to fit instagram because the IG cropping or shrinking feature is all but useless.
If you really think about it, IG is a really basic program…it’s actually quite pathetic or at least it was until Facebook created 15 second videos for it, but all that hype the media around it was a real joke as well. Media was saying there is a new app from Facebook…what a joke.
thank you!!! I was about to follow the exact same route it seemed. Saved me a lot of time .. and now I’ve learned about dropbox. Seen it on my phone, but never used it. 🙂
How do you take a photo from your droid gallery and import it to instagram, which I have loaded on my droid?
I use gramblr all the time. It works really well.
Get CheetahSync or use AirDroid! Bluestack is sooooo slow. Then on Windows I use Instagrille for quick comments #10fingers — enhance this by free online service: keybr.com
This was great, until you got to this line: “Then I headed over to my tablet, where I had the Dropbox app installed and then long-pressed on the photo to open it in the Photo Gallery. From there, I could share directly to Instagram”
“From there…”??? But how? You didn’t say… wasted a bit of time on the only thing I didn’t know how to do – Dropbox is obvious, but the “from there…” didn’t help at all…
Thought I’d let you know in this sea of admirers…
If you need to transfer you can just email the photo and open up your email on your iPhone and save the image from their. I’m trying to find a way on how to actually UPLOAD your photos to Instagram.
THIS IS NOT PROBLEM SOLVED not even KINDA SOLVED! you’re now posting to Instagram from a mobile device. The article suggests you have solved the issue of posting from a PC Desktop or Mac using the web.
Sean,
I had seen Gamblr come up in my search results earlier, so even though you said it didn’t work I went back to check it out, and it’s working fine.
I downloaded it, uploaded a photo, and it worked perfectly. It’s amazingly streamline. The one issue I had is that I guess the image is either uploaded too small, or I uploaded too small an image, so when viewed over instagram.com (not app) it is tiled. But otherwise it works perfectly.
Your final solution was such an obvious “duh” moment but a great and innovative way to work around this problem. Thanks!
So easy and it works. Thanks for the suggestion. Im not sure why these sites dont’ make it easier to upload photos
It’s way easier to just email the photos to yourself & check your email on your phone & save the photo & post it on Instagram. That’s what I do.
Mabuhay po! We are facing also this problem, we recently install this on to our phone we did is upload a photo from pc then synch it from the Galaxy Note then open the application from Note. There is two types of sharing, one is share but theres no instagram so we tried to click the other one. The export then the instagram appz appear so success the only problem is instagram doesn’t support full photos so it always a resized upload too sad for that.
Thanks
I came up with the same solution just a few days ago, I thought this article will offer something better, uploading photos without using tablet or smartphone at all.
This didn’t help me 🙁
I have a crappy phone that doesn’t allow apps, and my friends are begging me to get instagram; so I wanted to know if I could use Instagram without the use of a phone or tablet at all :/
means you still can’t upload the pictures directly from the desktop. 🙁
I have tonnes of pictures to share~~~ they are also located in http://lovelyinnstore.com/
Also is it possible to share the links or pictures from http://lovelyinnstore.com/ too?
Actully, Even though dropbox is technically the easiest way, instead I use attatchment to an email and send it back to my adress. It will arrive on your phones email. ( You need a phone with the instagram app) You open it and save the image. Then I just post it using the app. I have no clue why the computer uploading is so much more confusing then the app on iphones
oh yeah, using this method I can upload as many pics as I want :D!!! Also I didnt only mean phones just devices with the app!
So nobody comes with a real solution to automatically send few photos once a day on instagram ?
how is posting to instagram via your tablet a solution to wanting to post on instagram via PC? Is a tablet a PC?
Thanks a lot man! I downloaded, tried, and deleted bluestacks before I found your article. Well done Sean.
Thank you for this post. You just saved me about few hours trying to figure this out on my own. I’m going with dropbox!
Dropbox….Why did I not think of that? THANKS! As pointed out, Instagram was built to be a mobile only app. Yes, we would like it to work on our PCs/Macs, but Instagram realizes that the future is going to be mobile. For those that want to share photos on a PC/Mac there is Facebook (which owns Instragram). Even now, 50% of Facebook logins in the US come from smart phone and tablets. Rather than looking for a way to make the app do something it is not designed to do, I recommend you get yourself a smart phone (some of them are even free) or invest in a tablet to get the most out of Instagram. Trying to make it change is like trying to get a boat to work on land or get a fish to live out of water. Instagram is focused on the 13-24 set. They do not want to see 100 pictures from your last vacation all at once. They just want to share what they are doing right now, comment on what you are doing right now and engage in a friend to friend manner. If you want to share 100s of pics, create an album on Facebook or put them on Flickr or Photobucket et al. Instagram has become a bonafide mobile social network. It needs to be treated as such unless they decide to expand to the PC, which I doubt they would do. And as far as Gramblr…I would never give my password to one app to another, even if it is complex and unique.
thanks for your time, tough luck your answer is still negative
It’s not a solution, when you don’t have a smartphone (was stolen) . Then you can’t share nomore photos to instagram.
hi, used to have a smartphone, but would like to upload pics that were taken from my Blackberry handset and which are saved on my desktop or PC.
thanks a lot for advice! it works!
Brilliant….thank you!
…so it’s impossible to upload photos to Instagram from a desktop or laptop …no solutions other than “download this app and use your phone or tablet?” Don’t get me wrong, I love DropBox, but I was also hoping for a more direct solution to this issue based on the title.
Hi!
I was searching through the web for solutions to upload photos onto instagram via the computer..because mum took away the i-pad and my smartphone doesn’t support the instagram app.
I have tried all the solutions on here before I found this page.. none of them work BUT I TRIED A FEW DIFFERENT TIMES AND FOUND A SOMEWHAT SIMPLE SOLUTION ON BUESTACKS 🙂
so here are the following steps
1. Upload your picture onto facebook (change the setting onto only me)
2. Open the Facebook app on Bluestack
3. Download the instagram app on Bluestack.
4. Use the Facebook app on Bluestack to open up the photo you want to upload onto instagram.
5. Click take a snapshot on the BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER.
6. Click upload using instagram.
7. Crop it.
8. Upload it 😀
and it’s doneeee :3
*works best if the photo is taken with a CAMERA
contact me if you have any problem 🙂
I already had bluestack on my pc so this was very easy for me.Thank you it works!!!
i dont understan step 3,4,5, it doesn’t appears any snapshot on the bottom right corner, please explain me
how to create files on dropbox ? i on’t understand ;/
AWESOME. Im using this method very successfully for Instagram
I was able to get Gramblr to install on my PC. When I went to upload a photo though, it failed saying that the photo had to be square (equal height and width), and who wants to crop all their photos just to upload them? Not worth it for me even though I was looking for a way to use Instagram without a smart phone.
Terrible article. Long winded, and one of the worst ways to transfer files from your PC to your phone. Has nothing to do with instagram. You just disguised it as such. Best way to transfer files to your tablet or phone is with ES File Explorer using Wi-Fi.
Awesome help, thank you! 🙂
can you sign up, too?
Yes, Gramblr.com is a solution – I managed to upload one image, now it says that the size is not OK. Seems to be buggy but there is no support.
Poor old phone has so little memory, can’t install many large apps. Had to uninstall a few to make room to reinstall Dropbox & Instagram again. But long-pressing on both the Dropbox folder, then just the individidual pics inside the folder would NOT share to Instagram!
I’d already checked that Instagram sent a pic from my phone via wifi, And ES File explorer actually WOULD share a pic with Instagram―weird that you got it going, yet it failed with me. However, my phone was complaining about too much memory being used, so maybe that.
So after ifttt wouldn’t, ibeam.it didn’t show a way to beam TO Instagram, your Dropbox―Instagram work-around didn’t work on my old phone, so I’m going to try
Gramblr.com since others here said it’s working for them.
Gramblr WORKED On Windows 7 (after scanning each file in the zip for virus, didn’t require installing, ran straight from folder I unzipped it to). But be forewarned, it does require logging in with your Instagram Username+password! So before testing it, I changed my Instagram password to a totally unique, long (not saying how many characters) password with a PW Generator, just to be extra safe. I’ll post back if I notice any weirdness like autoposting, tagging, or if it breaks (probably eventually, as they seem he||bent on only phone users uploading―probably easier/cheaper to track us that way than with cookies/spiders compared to ISP accounts LOL) .
THANKS FOR GAMBLR INFORMATION!!!!!!
Eventho you mentioned Gamblr didnt work, I trying stiil it, ANNNNDDDD WORTHIT!!!!
Uhm, sorry before.. You said we can put photos in Dropbox. Then, upload it by our iPhone/iPad/iPod/Android. Helllloooooo… I dont have either, Babe….
For me, Dropbox is 119283099% NON-SOLUTION. *blink
But, Thanksthanksthanks for Gamblr-information. Kisskisskiss.
I recently tried again and it seems to be working better. I’ll post an update to the post.
Cheers!
–Sean
I wonder is there any differences between using the workaround suggested (using Dropbox), with physically connecting your phone/tablet using USB cable and store the photos into the phone/tablet’s storage?
I downloaded Gramblr today and it’s fine 🙂
i’ve downloaded drop box but i dont understand how i upload photos to instagram from pc…plz help
I used Gramblr.com today and it worked just fine…I dont have a mac though.
Great fix. Simple and elegant. Thanks.
AH HA! I was wondering about this, too.
And based on your prompting, I just verified that I can easily share photos from my Android Gallery directly to Instagram. So the process is:
1) Take pictures with my real camera.
2) Upload to Google+ (could even automate this with my Eye-Fi card)
3) Then wait a short bit for these photos to sync to my phone.
NICE! Thanks for sharing the tip! Instagram is now actually more useful for me.
Love it, thank you for your help!
The trick is though to find an app/program online, via your desktop (either mac or pc) to do a batch upload! The uploading single photos item per item is the annoying factor. So for you, you’ll be individually editing and uploading each photo, bogging down your page, and spamming the feed of your friends/followers. That’s the biggest problem i have w/ Instagram right there.
I don’t understand how dropping the files into a folder on your PC allows you to see the folder on your………oh wait. You need a tablet? How do I actually get them on instagram from my PC? I have a galaxy note 2 phone. How might that work? Sorry to be so ignorant.
I also have a Galaxy Note 2, and was wondering the same thing. Really wish Instagram would solve this problem.
If you only have a few pictures you can always email them to yourself. Add them as an attachment and open them on your phone. You should then be able to save them on your phone and proceed to upload them onto Instagram.
Hope this helps.
Gramblr.com works perfectly!
Gramblr.com is the only one that worked for me.
AGREEEEE!!!!!
Thank you! I’ve been searching for this solution for a while (I tried the bluestacks method and didn’t like it either). Dropbox worked like a charm!
Glad it works for you 🙂
Cheers!
–Sean
Yeah I agree with Junie. Problem completely not solved, you can quite easily transfer photo’s to tablets/phones, they’re made for it with leads and clouds and all sorts.
The 4 none solutions were closer solutions than yours. But thanks for teaching people the more irritating way of photo transfer rather than the basics using hardware sold with their tablet devices/phones.
Yeah…they are all a bit of non-solutions. Try Gramblr again, Amy. Seems to be the closest think to a solution. Sure wish Instagram would offer the capability through their Web interface.
Cheers!
–Sean
does not solve the problem of uploading from desktop to instagram as you still have to upload from phone or tab. this should have been called how to transfer photos from computer to phone
Junie,
try Gramblr. Seems to be working better now, but only one photo at a time.
Cheers!
–Sean
YOU ARE MY LIFESAVER!!!!! THANKYOU! I ACTUALLY LOVE YOU!! xxx
You can also upload your photos using Apple icloud service. Once you install the app on your desktop it creates a folder called “Photo Stream”. Inside this folder there are 3 more folders (My Photo Stream, Shared, Uploads). “My Photo Stream” holds your synced photos from your iPhone or iPad to your computer. “Shared” (not sure! I haven’t used it) Then the 3rd is the “Uploads” folder, just drag your desktop photos inside. It might take a while for the photos to sync to your Apple gadgets. You can find them in the “Photo Stream” tab in your iPhone gallery. 🙂
Oh also, if you delete any photo in the “Uploads” folder it will also be removed in the “My Photo Streams” 🙂
I can say that the step by step procedural ways to describe the photos posting on the Instagram is rather a good work. I had been in this issue since long. It had really drop down a large effort of me in posting and sharing the stock photos which I had with held with me. Thanks for the valuable information on the subject.
Nice article going through different solutions. I’ve seen the dropbox solution, but in a pinch if you only have a few photos just email yourself the phones and pick them up on your phone quickly.
Tried Botio. Terrible program. I signed up for their 7 day trial… which I had active for all of half an hour.
In addition to allowing you to upload photos, it has settings to Like, Comment and Follow instagram users, all at random. You can set these things to happen at intervals of a few hours. Personally, I’m not comfortable with any of that (especially bot comments, ick). I set all 3 of those to “Never”.
I was quite displeased to learn that despite choosing those settings, the app started Liking, Commenting and Following on my behalf anyway!
Not only that, the one picture it claimed to have uploaded didn’t work.
A useless app, and slides in comfortably as Non-Solution #3.
I so agree with you this app is useless and not comfortable to use
Thanks for sharing. I think Gramblr seems to be the only true desktop solution. It seems to be working a bit better now.
Cheers!
–Sean
That’s a really useful article – it will save me a lot of time!
Many thanks!
Thank you! I have the same problem, having just returned from vacation. I was wondering how to transfer my photos, so this post is very timely for me.
Glad it helped. The challenge is that most of these solutions still only let us upload one image at a time.
Cheers!
–Sean
I have just finished shooting 3000+ pictures at Country Thunder and the best solution is to add them to Facebook on the PC and then save them to my phone by saving my Facebook photos to my phone. No matter how I do it I’m going to need a bunch of time to do even a hundred of them!