Chapter 2
IN THIS CHAPTER
Deploying Instagram apps on computers and mobile devices
Using Instagram on the web
Launching Instagram on your computer or mobile device
The good people at Instagram realized long ago that many people use Instagram with all their computing devices, not just smartphones. If you haven’t installed Instagram yet, this is the chapter you need to read.
We start by explaining how to install the Instagram app on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Next, we explain how to use Instagram on the web, in case you’re using a computer. Finally, we show you how to launch the Instagram app on your computer or device so you can scratch that itch and start Instagramming!
Instagram was designed for a smartphone, but you don’t have to use it there — you can use it on your laptop or desktop or tablet, if you want. Just be aware that the full functionality of the Instagram mobile app isn’t quite there on a computer. For that reason, we start by showing you how to install Instagram where it was originally intended to be used: on your phone.
The first version of Instagram, which was available for download on October 6, 2010, was for iPhone users. It was a wise decision: The popularity of the iPhone combined with Instagram’s ease of use when it came to sharing photos resulted in more than one million registered Instagram users by the end of 2010.
It’s easy to download Instagram from the App Store to your iPhone:
Tap the Search box, at the top of the screen, and start typing the word Instagram.
After you type the first few letters, Instagram appears at the top of the results list.
Tap Get.
If you’re prompted to sign in to the App Store, do so and then tap Buy.
Tap Open.
The app appears on the screen, as shown in Figure 2-1.
The next time you want to open Instagram, just tap the Instagram icon.
Instagram has yet to create a native app for the iPad, which is another one of life’s great mysteries (but not at the level of where missing socks go). However, you can use the iPhone app on the iPad.
Here’s how to install Instagram on an iPad:
Tap the Search box, at the top of the screen, and start typing the word Instagram.
After you type the first few letters, Instagram appears at the top of the results list.
Tap Get (see Figure 2-2).
If you’re prompted to sign in to the App Store, do so and then tap Buy.
After Instagram was satisfied with the development of its app on the iPhone, staffers turned their attention to developing Instagram for the Android platform. On the first day the app was released, in April 2012, more than a million users downloaded it.
Here’s how to install Instagram on your Android smartphone or tablet from the Google Play Store:
Tap the Play Store icon on the Home screen.
If the Play Store icon isn’t on a Home screen, tap Apps on the Home screen and then tap Play Store in the Apps screen.
Tap the Search box at the top of the screen, and start typing the word Instagram.
Instagram appears in the results list.
Tap Instagram in the results list.
The app information screen shown in Figure 2-3 appears.
The Windows version of Instagram is a Windows 10 app. As any Windows 10 user knows, Microsoft is trying to make Windows the best of both worlds by offering apps that can run on both Windows on computers and the Windows Mobile 10 operating system. (Good luck trying to find anyone using Windows Mobile 10 on a smartphone.)
Windows PC users can install the Instagram app from the Windows Store or the Instagram website. Here’s how to install the app from the Windows Store:
Click the Install button, as shown in Figure 2-4.
After the Windows Store installs the Instagram app on your computer, the Install button in the Store window changes to Launch.
Instagram doesn’t have a Mac version of its app available to download, as you’ll discover if you search for Instagram in the App Store. If you try to download the app from iTunes by clicking Get on the Instagram app page, you’ll see the Get button change to Downloading for a few seconds, and then the button will change back to Get.
The only way you can access Instagram is on its website. And if you use a web browser other than Safari, you’ll only be able to view, like, and comment on photos and videos. Fortunately, you can bamboozle the Instagram website into thinking you’re accessing the website on the iPhone so you can upload photos.
Here’s how to trick Instagram into thinking you’re on an iPhone when you’re really on a Mac:
Close the window.
The Develop option now appears in the menu bar.
Open the Instagram website and log in.
The Instagram home screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-6.
Click the plus icon.
The File window opens so you can navigate to your desired folder and add photo(s) to your Instagram profile.
After you upload your photos, you’ll find that the photo-editing options in Safari are more limited than those in the iPhone app. (And remember that you can’t upload videos to Instagram on Safari.)
If you’d rather upload photos to Instagram using an app, check out Flume and Uplet, two apps listed in an article by Lewis Painter on the Macworld UK website describing the process we’ve just outlined here (www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/instagram-for-mac-3641569/
). A discussion of third-party apps is beyond the scope of this book, so check out that Macworld UK article for more information.
If you’re away from your smartphone or you just like browsing Instagram on your desktop or laptop computer, you can do that, but you have less functionality there.
Go to www.instagram.com
in your computer’s web browser. From here, you can log in to Instagram in one of two ways:
After you log in, you see the home page with the latest photos and videos from users you follow. The top of the screen, shown in Figure 2-7, features the Instagram logo at the left, the Search box in the center, and three icons to the right of the Search box:
If you’re on the Discover People or Profile pages, you can return to the home page by clicking the Instagram icon (camera) or the Instagram logo.
Scroll down the screen to see photos and videos from other Instagram users you follow. Below the photo, you can click the heart icon to like the photo. You can also add a comment by clicking Add a Comment (see Figure 2-8), typing the comment, and then pressing Enter.
Note the icon with three dots to the right of the person’s username. Click this icon to open a pop-up menu that enables you to
If you’re using Instagram on an iPhone, iPad, or Android device, you can start the app by tapping its icon, as shown in Figure 2-9.
If you’re using Instagram on an iPhone or iPad for the first time, you’ll be asked to turn on Instagram notifications in the Please Turn On Notifications window. If you don’t turn them on, you won’t know, for example, if one of your followers likes a photo you posted. Turn on Instagram notifications by tapping OK in the window. Next, you see the Instagram Would Like to Send You Notifications window. This seems redundant, but Instagram is asking you to send your notifications with sounds and alerts. If you want to do this, tap Allow in the window. Otherwise, tap Don’t Allow in the window.
If you’re using an Android smartphone or tablet, you won’t see a notification window. Instead, you’ll see your home screen so you can log in. Turn to Chapter 5 for instructions on how to change the notification settings in Instagram for Android.
To open Instagram on your Windows PC, click the Start icon in the taskbar and then click Instagram in the apps list, as shown in Figure 2-10. Alternatively, you can click the Instagram icon in the Start menu.
When you sign into the app on an iPhone, iPad, or Android device for the first time, it will ask you to log in using your Instagram username and password or your Facebook account. If you don’t have an Instagram account, click the Sign Up link at the bottom of the window. The signup screen asks you to log in with Facebook or create an Instagram account by clicking the Sign Up with Phone or Email link. From there, you’ll be able to use the signup wizard to create an account.