How does instagram work on android

What Is Instagram and How to Use It: a Beginner's Guide

Instagram is a free social media platform for sharing photos and videos with your followers.
It's become an especially popular way to connect with brands, celebrities, and friends.
Instagram has an array of features, from short-form videos to live streaming and private messaging.

One could argue that Instagram is a social media network like no other. The popular user base platform is built almost entirely around sharing images and videos. This visual twist is why Instagram is the cultural powerhouse it is today — "Instagramming" is officially a verb now.

With over a billion registered accounts, from small businesses to large institutions, news organizations to cultural hubs, celebrities, photographers, musicians, and not to mention the cottage industry of influencers — it's hard to remember a time when Instagram didn't exist.

So, if you've found yourself out of the Instagram loop, then read on. We'll give you a crash course on how the app works, how to get started, and eventually, how to get 'gramming like a pro.

To help you get started, let's walk through some of the basics:

How to download Instagram

First things first: You'll need to download Instagram to use the app. It's available for free on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. While there isn't an app fully optimized for iPads, you can still enjoy the full IG experience on your iPad by changing your App Store settings to find the app.

How to create an Instagram account

Upon opening the app for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a new account, or log in with your Facebook account.

If you choose to make a new account, the process is straightforward: you'll be asked for your phone number or email address, full name, desired username, and password.

Once you create an account, it's worth noting that you can create — and switch between — multiple Instagram accounts without logging out, a very useful feature if you wish to run separate accounts for personal and professional use.

Even though Instagram is designed primarily for smartphones, the desktop experience — once very limited — has steadily improved over the years.

Today, you can get on Instagram from your computer and use a web browser to edit your profile, view your feed, like and comment on posts, and send and receive direct messages. You can even post photos and videos from the desktop app, thanks to a relatively recent update.

Setting up your profile

After you create your Instagram account, you're going to want to set up your profile. Your profile page is a hub for all your photos and videos where you can keep track of who you're following and who's following you. It's also where you can access your settings.

From your profile page, you can edit your profile, access settings, or scroll down to see your posts. Devon Delfino

Profile pages are often the first thing people visit, so it's best to keep your username, profile picture, and bio up to date. Your profile picture is the icon that appears with your username all over the platform, while your bio is a space to offer a brief description of yourself or your brand. You can also add a link to your website, if applicable.

By clicking Edit Profile, you can make changes to your profile page at any time:

How to change your Instagram profile picture
How to change your Instagram bio
How to change your Instagram username

If you're running an Instagram account for your business, you can also add your location.

Customizing notifications

Keeping up with your friends and followers on Instagram means making sure you're getting the right notifications, at the right time. The platform gives you the power to choose what push notifications it sends to your device.

For example, perhaps you want to receive a notification when you get a new follower, or when someone comments on your post. Or maybe you're feeling inundated with pings and you would like to turn your notifications off completely.

You can adjust your notifications by going into your profile, tapping the three lines in the top-right corner of the screen and selecting the three lines icon in the same location , and then tap Settings followed by Notifications.

You can adjust your notifications from this screen. Devon Delfino

Now that you have the app downloaded, and your profile set up, it's time to start sharing.

How to use Instagram

At its core, Instagram is a social media platform, and a highly visual one at that. Every time you open the app, you'll be met with a main feed of recent posts from the accounts you follow.

At the bottom is a menu bar, which is accessible anywhere you are in the app.

Here's what each button does, from left to right:

Home: Your main feed where you can scroll through photos and videos posted by your friends.

Search and explore: The magnifying glass icon takes you to the Explore page, where you can search and browse content from accounts you don't follow but may be interested in.

Reels: This tab includes short videos (up to 90 seconds long) from users you may or may not be following. You can scroll to the next video by swiping your finger from the bottom of the screen to the top.

Shop: Here, you'll find a collection of Instagram posts that includes items you can buy through the app.

Profile: This icon navigates to your profile page that shows your bio and posts. It's also where you can access your settings.

Use these buttons to navigate between your feed, search and Explore, Reels, Shop, and your profile. Devon Delfino

Like other social media networks, Instagram is what you make it. For most people, checking Instagram is equal parts voyeurism and self-expression. For the entrepreneurial set, like business owners, brands, and influencers, Instagram is an indispensable marketing tool with unmatched reach.

But going back to basics, Instagram works off a simple premise: You follow accounts that interest you. In turn, people follow you. People can "like" and comment on your posts, and you can do the same to their posts. Whether you maintain a low profile or amass a following, how active you are is entirely up to you.

Uploading, editing, and posting photos

To share a photo or video on Instagram, tap the large plus button (located toward the top-right corner of the screen). From there, you can select photos or videos from your phone's camera roll to post.

Quick tip: Instagram allows you to to select up to 10 photos and videos to post at once — these kinds of posts are called carousels.

For every post, you can choose to apply a filter, which, depending on who you ask, is either essential to the Instagram experience or unnecessary, given that many other photo editing apps come with their own filters.

Filters make it easy to edit shots with different visual pre-set overlays. For example, some filters, like Mayfair, give everything a pink hue; others, like Willow, turn everything black-and-white.

You can adjust how intense (or not) the filter is as well using a slider when you select the filter and then tap it one more time.

You can select from in-app filters to alter your photos. Devon Delfino

Once your post is to your liking and ready to go, there are a few more options you can do before you hit the share button:

Add a caption: Captions are always a good idea. You can use words, emojis, or hashtags. Just like in comments, you can also mention friends by typing @ in front of their username. Keep in mind you can edit captions at any time — or delete posts.

Tag people: Instagram allows you to "tag" someone in your photos. When you tag someone, they'll get a notification in their activity feed. (This is separate from mentioning them in your caption.)

Add location: Location tags lets others know where your photo was taken. Clicking on a location tag brings you to its corresponding location feed, where you can peruse other public posts.

Also post to other social accounts: Instagram also gives you the ability to publish a post to other social accounts at the same time. By linking accounts, you can cross-post to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

There are a lot of options in Instagram's posting screen. Devon Delfino

Exploring and finding people to follow

The best way to find people to follow is by tapping the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the app. This will open the Explore page, where you'll find a feed of suggested posts based on what Instagram thinks you're interested in.

The Explore page can also be organized by topic — another great way for discovering content.

You can do this by selecting the suggested topics toward the top of the screen. Additionally, the page is where you can search for users by name, through the search bar at the top of the screen.

You can scroll down for more posts, or use the search function at the top to find specific accounts or posts. Devon Delfino

When it comes to interacting with others, Instagram works less like Facebook and more like Twitter. In most cases, you don't have to send a friend request or wait for the other person to accept it.

When you follow other people, Instagram will make sure you see their posts in your feed. For the most part, people can see who you're following and who's following you, at all times.

However, if you have a private account your followers are restricted and unable to view who currently follows you.

Sending and receiving direct messages

Instagram has a direct messaging system that lets you chat privately with anyone who follows you.

If you send a message to someone who doesn't follow you, that message will be sorted into its own "message requests" folder. To start the conversation, the person on the receiving end must accept the message.

Direct messages are also available in the app and on the desktop website.

To access your message menu, tap the paper airplane icon in your home feed. From there, you'll be shown all the people you've had conversations with in the past. You can also tap the pen and paper icon in the top right-hand corner to start a new conversation, or the camera icon to start a video chat.

Your message history will appear on this screen. Devon Delfino

Once you're in a conversation, you can send all sorts of messages. These include basic text messages, animated GIFs, and more. You can also share Instagram posts. And you can "like" messages, or delete messages if you no longer wish to see them.

The only users that you'll have to ask to follow are those who have made their account private.

When you tap Follow on a private profile, you'll have to wait for that user to accept you before you can officially follow them and send them a message.

You can also connect your phone contacts to Instagram, which can be another great way to find friends on the app.

Instagram features

As you might expect, Instagram rolls out new features regularly. From new content to an ever-expanding set of creative tools, Instagram offers plenty of opportunities for self-expression and creativity.

Here are the latest and greatest Instagram features worth knowing:

Instagram Stories

Many people use Instagram exclusively for creating and viewing Stories, which are customizable posts that only last 24 hours. These posts, which could be a mix of photos and short-form videos, are presented in a slideshow format and accessible through the top of the home feed.

And when we say customizable, we mean customizable. Unlike regular posts, which include only simple filters, Stories boast all kinds of creative elements, including:

Animated stickers and cartoons
Polls and quizzes
Dynamic song lyrics
Links to donation funds and charities

There are several ways to add a Story, but the easiest is to tap your profile icon at the top-left hand corner of your home feed. From there, you can either take a photo or video live, or choose one from your phone's gallery. You'll then have the opportunity to draw, add text or any of those other creative elements we mentioned above.

While Stories are designed to disappear after one day, they're automatically saved to your private Archive (which we'll explain in just a bit) after expiring. You can also publish Stories permanently on your profile for visitors to watch at any time.

Instagram Live

Instagram Live is a feature that lets you livestream, or broadcast live video, from your device to anyone who wants to watch.

Viewers can send you messages and hearts while you stream, making this a great way to talk to all your followers at once, or broadcast an event.

To go live on Instagram, you'll need to open Instagram and, from your feed, swipe right and select Live from the options at the bottom of the screen. From there you can do things like add a title, select your audience, and schedule the live video, if desired.

You can go live for up to four hours at a time — after that, the livestream will end and you'll need to start again.

While you're streaming, viewer comments are visible by default, but can be disabled with just a few taps.

Whenever anyone you follow starts starts a livestream, you'll get a notification. If you're following a lot of people, this might mean a constant flood of notifications that you don't need.

Luckily, turning off Instagram Live notifications only takes a moment.

Reels

Built as a rival to TikTok, Reels is Instagram's dedicated video platform, letting users upload videos up to 90 seconds long in length. Once you record a video, you can edit it and add music, text, and special effects. Other users can like or comment on your Reels videos, so they can be a fun way to attract new followers.

To watch someones else's Reels, you need to tap the icon, located in the center of the bottom menu on the app. (It looks like a mashup of a play button and a clapperboard. ) Here, you can watch videos that others have uploaded, create Reels of your own.

Instagram Shopping

Given Instagram's popularity, it's no surprise that brands are doing everything they can to turn Instagram users into customers. According to Instagram, nearly half of people shop on Instagram weekly.

Instagram tips and tricks

Instagram is simple to use, but can take a while to master. Here are some of our favorite tricks that aren't so obvious to beginners.

Schedule posts in advance

Instagram has become a massive part of nearly every company's online presence, and if there's one thing that social media brand managers love, it's scheduling a post in advance.

Instagram does have a native post scheduler — but that's reserved for those with professional accounts. Still, there are dozens of third-party programs, like Buffer, that can handle the scheduling for you.

Save Instagram videos to your phone

If you've found an amazing video on Instagram that you just need to save, you're in luck — there are several ways to save Instagram videos.

If you're trying to save one of your own videos, it'll just take a few taps to save the video directly to your camera roll. If you're trying to save someone else's video, however, you'll need to record your screen or use a third-party app.

Post different photo formats

When Instagram first launched in 2010, the edits were limited. You could only post square photos — anything else either wasn't allowed, or would be cut off.

Nowadays, the rules are a bit more lax. But if you want to post two common photo types — panorama shots and Live Photos — you may have to make some edits beforehand.

For a panorama photo, you can either zoom out so it fits in a single photo, otherwise you'll need to split up your shots beforehand using a third-party app. If you have an iPhone and want to post your live photos, you'll need to convert them into videos first.

Archive posts instead of deleting them

If you're unsure about deleting your post, Instagram offers an archive feature instead. This is great if you only want to hide a post temporarily.

To archive a post, open it, tap the three dots in the top-right, and then select Archive. The post will be hidden immediately.

Once you've archived a post, you can navigate to your private Archive with just a few taps.

Note: Every Story you post will be saved to your Archive automatically once they expire.

Privacy and security

It's also important to manage your privacy and security settings to your liking.

Manage who can see your posts

Like Facebook, Instagram allows you control who can see your posts. The easiest way to control your online presence is to set your account as "Private."

When you set your account as Private, the only people who will be able to see your posts and other activity are your followers. And before people can follow you, you'll have to approve them.

Another way you can do this is by setting up a Close Friends list. The Close Friends feature allows you to create Instagram Stories that can only be viewed by specific people. If you want to use Stories to send quick updates to your friends, this is the way to go.

Finally, if you run a Business account and you don't want users under a certain age following, you can set an age limit on your account — the minimum age you can set depends on where you live.

Change your personal account information

We've already mentioned that you can change your username whenever you like. But if you're unhappy with how you set up your account, you can edit other pieces of information too.

With just a few taps, you can change the email connected to your account.

If you want to make sure your account is secure, you can change your Instagram password at any time.

Download and back up your data

Like most social networks, Instagram has an obscure menu that lets you download every bit of content you've ever posted on the app. This includes your photos, videos, comments, messages, profile information, and more.

The only content you can't download are Stories you've posted and let expire without saving.

To download your Instagram data, head to the Settings menu in your app and then select Your activity followed by Download Data. Once there, fill out the form, and your data will be emailed to you within a few days.

If you don't want to download all your data, you can also simply view it in the app.

Protect yourself and others from harassment

Instagram has a long set of rules to ensure that all users have a safe and fun time in the app. But like all sites, it's not hard to find people who break those rules. Other users can comment on pictures and videos that you post to a public profile - but if you want to post something without leaving it open to comments, you can disable the comments on specific posts.

If you ever find a user harassing you or someone else, you can report them to Instagram.

There's no guarantee that Instagram will act on the report, but alerting them to it is better than doing nothing.

Whether you're an aspiring influencer, photography lover, or an everyday social media user, Instagram is a great place to be. It's easy to get started, so if this guide has piqued your interest, give it a try.

If for whatever reason you later decide it's not for you, you can delete your Instagram account at any time. No commitment needed.

Devon Delfino

Devon Delfino is a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist specializing in personal finance, culture, politics, and identity. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, and CNBC. Follow her on Twitter at @devondelfino.

How to use Instagram on Android

One of the most popular camera and photo sharing apps for Android is Instagram — downloaded more than a million times in less than a day when it was launched in April last year. Already a big hit on iOS, Instagram for Android has created a huge ripple among Android users.

Although the app sports simple controls and settings, many users still scratch their heads in wonder as to how the app works and what wonders it can provide.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to use Instagram on Android. It is very easy to set up and it won’t take you long to realize how much of a joy it is to use.

Feel free to skip the post for now, if you like, and jump to our video tutorial at the end of this post.

Setting up an Instagram account

If you haven’t installed the app yet, download Instagram from the Google Play Store for free.

If you already have an Instagram account, just sign in to your account and start using the app. If you need to create a new account, here are the steps:

Run Instagram.
On the starting page, choose whether to register or sign in. Skip the next steps if you already have an account.
Select Register to create a new account.
Designate a username and password that will become your login details the next time you access Instagram. You may also specify a display image.
Provide your name and email address to complete your profile. Or, tap Use Your Facebook Info to use your Facebook info to fill out the remaining fields.

Tap the Register button to create your account.
On the next page, choose whether to search for Instagram accounts of your contacts or Facebook friends. You can skip this step and manually search for your friends’ accounts later.
Instagram suggests users that you can follow. Tap on the Follow button to follow users that catch your fancy — or you can skip this for later. You will be seeing posts from the users you follow.

Tap on Done to finish setting up your account.

You now have an Instagram account! You will be taken to the Home tab where a stream of images from you and from your followed users will appear.

Main screen buttons

Aside from the stream of pictures on the Home tab, you’ll see five buttons at the screen’s bottom. What are they and what are they for?

Home button

The first button is the Home button and takes you home whenever you get lost anywhere in the Instagram app or whenever you just want to start over from the beginning. The Home tab displays photos from the people you follow, as well as your own published photos.

Explore button

Tap the second button to see the Explore tab where a bunch of awesome photos recently shared by random users are displayed. From there, you can follow other users, especially when photos shared are interesting to you. You can also search for users here by tapping the Search button (magnifying glass icon) and typing in the username or name on the search bar. You can also search for photos with specific tags.

Camera button

The third button is the heart of Instagram. It opens the Instagram Camera so you can take a photo or select a photo from your gallery, and, thereafter apply filters/effects before sharing the photo to the rest of the world.

News button

Although not shaped like a newspaper, the fourth button opens the News tab, which shows news from the users you follow and of course, notifications from your own account. Interactions made by the people you follow will appear under the Following tab. Friend requests and other interactions related to you are all found under the You tab.

Profile button

You won’t miss this button at the rightmost part, shaped like a calling card. Tapping this button opens your Profile page, which shows your profile, stats, and your photos. This page is also where you can edit your profile, including changing your profile picture, changing your password, and even changing your username and display name.

Posting on Instagram

To start enjoying the wonders of Instagram, you need to take a photo first or select an existing one from your albums. It doesn’t even end there. You may want to apply filters that complement your awesome photo and then, share it simultaneously to other social platforms. Here’s how all of that happens:

Tap on the Camera button to start taking photos. If you want to switch between front and back cameras, just tap the small camera icon at the upper-right.
Use the tap-to-focus feature to focus on your subject. Only some phones support this feature. Just tap on the screen until the marker turns green.
To capture a photo, tap the camera shutter. Or, If you want to use a photo from your gallery, press the Gallery button right beside the camera shutter button. Choose a photo from the gallery and tap on it.

If you choose a photo from the gallery, you will need to crop the image to fit the standard Instagram size. You’ll see a resizeable crop box that you can move around on your image. Tap the Ok button to crop the image. You don’t need to crop photos taken using the built-in Instagram Camera.
After taking a photo or selecting a photo from the gallery, you will be taken to the editing screen. Here, you can use the following buttons at the top:
- Border – adds or removes a border on your photo
- Blur – shaped like a droplet and adds either a circular or linear tilt-shift
- Lux – adds brightness and vibrance to your photo
- Rotate – rotates your photo clockwise
- Next Icon – press this if you are done editing your photo
If you want, apply a photo filter by selecting one from the bottom. The selected filter will instantly be applied on the photo preview. If you don’t want to apply any filter, choose Normal. Instagram currently has 20 built-in photo filters. Here are some samples:

After applying a filter, tap the Next button (double arrows pointing to the right).
Add a caption to your photo. You can use hashtags on your caption. Photos that bear the same hashtags will be grouped together, making the search for a particular photo easier.

Instagram also allows you to add your photos to a photo map before publishing and sharing them. Adding a photo to Photo Map will require you to provide the location where the photo is taken using Foursquare’s registered locations. You can also add your location if it is not on the list. Photos added on the Photo Map will be presented in map view, corresponding to the places where your photos were taken.
Tap the name of the social networking sites that you want to share the photo to.
You will be asked to login to that particular site. Providing your login details once will link your account to Instagram. You won’t need to re-enter your login details the next time you want to share your photo.
If you’re done logging in, press the green check mark at the top. This will publish your photo not only to Instagram but also to the sites you’ve specified.

Editing your Photo Map

Use prudence and caution when adding photos to your Photo Map; this feature divulges your whereabouts. If there are photos taken in locations that should remain private and you accidentally added them to your Photo Map, worry not. You can edit the photos that show up on your Photo Map. Here’s how to do it:

Navigate to your Profile page.
Tap the Photo Map button.
In Photo Map, press the Menu button (represented by a three-dot icon).
Tap Edit.

Tap on the stack of photos and a popup list of options appear. Tap on Edit.
Tap on the photos you want to omit from Photo Map. Once you tap on a photo, the photo will be grayed out, signaling that it won’t appear in Photo Map.
Tap Done once you’re done editing your Photo Map photos.

Sharing photos

You can also share your Instagram photo to other apps installed on your device. You can do this by pressing the three-dot icon found below your published photo on the Home screen or on your Profile page. Press Share and the photo will be shared to the app you specified. Some apps will only allow you to share the URL of the photo but some, like Google+, will share the whole photo itself.

Following users

Following fellow Instagrammers can be done in several ways. Following users make their photos appear on your Home tab and you’ll also be notified about interactions they may have on Instagram.

Searching for users to follow

Go to the Profile page.
Tap the magnifying glass. This is the Search button.
Type in your friend’s Instagram username to search for that user’s profile. If you don’t know the username, you can try searching for your contact’s name instead.
Once your friend’s profile link appears on the list, tap on it to open the user’s Profile page.
Tap the Follow button to start following your friend’s account.

Finding users via the Explore tab

From the Home tab, tap the Explore button to open the Explore page.
The Search button will also be available. You can use it to search for a particular name or username.
There will also be thumbnails of photos from random users. If you find an interesting photo and want to follow the user who uploaded it, tap on the photo to open the publisher’s profile. You will then be taken to the photo’s page.
Open the photo owner’s Profile page by tapping on the username or the user’s display image.
From the user’s Profile page, tap on the Follow button to start following the user.

Finding more friends

Go to your Profile page.
Tap the Options button represented by three square dots.
Tap on Find Friends from the menu.
The next menu will provide options for you to find friends from your contact list, Facebook, and suggested users. A link to the Search page is also available here.

Interacting with Instagram photos

See an awesome photo on your Home tab and want tell the author how great it is? How do you do it? There are actually two ways to do so — by liking the photo and/or by leaving a comment.

Showing some photo lovin’

Liking Instagram photos can be done in two ways. The ordinary way is through pressing the heart button below the photo. Tap on the heart button until it turns red.

The not-so-ordinary way of liking an Instagram photo is through double-tapping on the photo. A heart icon will quickly appear on the photo, signaling that you’ve successfully liked the photo. If you accidentally liked a photo, you can unlike it by pressing heart button again.

Leaving a comment

There are times when liking a photo is just not enough. Why not throw in a comment instead? Leaving a comment for an Instagram photo is simple. Just tap on the speech bubble icon found beside the heart icon and type away.

Deleting a Comment

Be extra careful when leaving comments because you cannot edit them. The only thing you can do is to delete the comment completely. You can delete comments that you own. But, you can’t delete comments left by other users for a photo that isn’t yours. However, if you are the owner of the post or photo, you can delete any comment for it.

You can delete your comment by pressing the speech bubble icon then tapping on the Edit button at the upper-right corner. Tap on the “X” mark beside your comment, then tap the red Delete button that appears.

Dealing with the nasty on Instagram

Instagram encourages its users to be responsible service users. If you see inappropriate content or a certain user has been spamming you, you have the option to report these to Instagram and authorized agents will immediately take action.

Reporting inappropriate photos

If you find a photo appalling or deem it inappropriate for circulation on Instagram, you can report the photo as inappropriate. Under the photo is the three-dot button. Tap on it to bring out the Report as Inappropriate button. Tap on the button and select a reason why you are reporting the photo as inappropriate. You will receive confirmation upon successfully reporting the photo.

Reporting abuse or spam

If you are getting annoying spam and/or abusive comments, you can report them to Instagram. Here’s how to go about it:

Tap the Comments button (represented by a speech bubble icon) under a photo to open the comments page for that photo.
Tap on the red exclamation mark beside the comment that you want to report as spam or abusive.
Select Report Abuse from the popup dialog.
Select the reason why you are reporting the comment (i.e., spam/scam or abusive content).
You will get a floating notification that your report has been submitted.

Blocking users

If you don’t want a particular user to follow you on Instagram, you can block the user entirely so that she or he can’t find you in search results and follow you.

Head to the user’s Profile page and tap on the Options button on the upper right corner. From the popup window, select either to block the user or to report the user for spam.

To unblock a user that you blocked previously, repeat the same steps, but tap “Unblock user” from the popup.

Profile management and privacy

If, for some reason, you want to change your profile photo, name, username, password, and other information, Instagram allows you to freely do so. You can also set your account’s privacy by preventing others from following you without authorization; you can also set your photos to private.

Changing profile photo

From the Home tab, tap on the Profile button to open your profile.
Tap on your display image or avatar. Or, tap the Options button (at the upper-right) and select Change Profile Picture from the menu.
Choose one of the following options from the popup dialog:
- Remove Current Photo — does what it says
- Take Photo — opens the Camera app so you can take a photo and set it as your display image
- Choose from Library — opens the Gallery app so you can choose a photo to set as display image
- Import from Facebook/Twitter — fetches your Facebook/Twitter profile photo and sets it as your Instagram profile photo

Changing user data, password, etc.

From the Home tab, tap on the Profile button to open your profile.
Tap on the Edit your profile link.
On the Edit Profile page, you can edit the various text fields for the following:
- Display name — The name shown on your profile page
- Login name — The username that you use for logging in
- Website — Your website; this is optional.
- Bio / description — Short self-description
- Email — Email address associated with your Instagram account.
- Phone number — Your telephone number; this is optional.
- Sex — Your biological sex; this is optional.
If you need to change your password, you can also do so on the Edit Profile page. Just tap the Change Password option, type in your current password, enter a new password, retype your new password to confirm, and then tap Save.

Hiding photos from non-friends

If you don’t want strangers to snoop around your photos, you can set your photos to private. When Photo Privacy is enabled, new followers will need to be authorized by you before they can follow you and view your photos. Here’s how to set your photos to private:

Go to the Profile tab.
Tap the Options button (three square dots) to open the Options page.
Tap Photo Privacy.
Toggle the check mark for “Photos are private.”

Your photos will now be visible only to people whom you authorize to follow you. The next time someone wants to follow you, you will be prompted to grant her or him approval.

Clearing search history

Earlier versions of Instagram for Android didn’t have a dedicated option for clearing
search history. But, this important function arrived a few updates ago. In the past, you’d have to log out and then back in just to clear your search history. But, in recent versions, you’d only need to go to your Profile page, tap the
Options button, and select Clear Search History from the menu. Next time you use the search function, you won’t
see a list of your previously searched usernames or tags.

Logging Out of Instagram

Instagram newbies realize that the log out button is not very accessible but not hard to access either. You won’t find it on the Home tab. It’s neatly tucked away in the Options menu on the Profile tab.

To log out of Instagram, open the Profile tab. Tap the Options button (three dots). Tap Log Out from the menu. Confirm that you want to log out.

Video Tutorial

Watch our video tutorial about how to use Instagram for Android:

Conclusion

Instagram is easy to use and easy to love because of its simplicity and function. After setting up an Instagram account and sharing your very first photo, you may find yourself using the app more often than not, especially when you have a lot of friends who also use the app. The charm of Instagram lies in its simplicity and its ability to make photo sharing more interesting and fun than it already is.

What’s your say? Does Instagram tickle your fancy and nudge the inner photographer in you? What filter is your favorite? Let us know your experiences with this most talked about and most preferred photo sharing and social networking app in Android by leaving a comment below.

Instagram not working? Here's what to do

Instagram is one of the most popular social networks in the world, and therefore, when it suddenly stops working, some users even take heart. As a rule, Instagram servers are quite reliable, but anything can happen. It is for those unfortunate cases when the application still does not work, we have compiled a list of ways that can help you fix this misunderstanding.

Contents

1 Check whether Instagram
2 Restart the Instagram
3 Update Instagram
4 Verify your Internet connection
5 Reload phone
6 delete and reinstall the Instagram
7 Check the list of well-known problems

Check if Instagram is working

If Instagram doesn't work for you, it might not work for others. Before taking any more drastic measures, check if the servers of the social network itself, by chance, are the case.

There are several sites that allow you to do this, but we recommend using the Down Detector. Just go to the Instagram page on the Down Detector website and it will show you what is currently happening with your favorite service: “No problems at Instagram”, “Possible problems at Instagram” (Possible problems on the Instagram website) or "Problems at Instagram" (There are problems on the Instagram site). You can also report any issues you see to alert other users.

If Instagram's servers are the problem, there's little you can do but wait. If it doesn't, then keep moving down the list.

Restart the Instagram application

If everything is fine with the Instagram servers and it still does not work for you, try closing the application and reopening it. It is necessary to close the application by unloading the device from its memory, and not just minimize it.

Restarting the application may be a quick fix, but if the problem is more severe, this will require further action.

Update the Instagram app

Closing and reopening Instagram will solve most problems, but if that doesn't work, you should definitely make sure you have the latest version of the app installed. Newer versions often contain bug fixes in addition to new features. Checking for updates for Instagram, like any other application, is very simple: open Google Play > bring up the menu by clicking on the "burger" icon in the upper left corner > open the My apps and games section > click the "Update" button next to the Instagram application, if it is available.

Check your internet connection

If your Instagram account isn't loading or you can't upload images, it may be due to your internet connection. If you are using a Wi-Fi connection, there are several methods, any of which can solve the problem with downloading the social network. Try each of the items in the list below.

Turn off cellular data and switch to Wi-Fi.
Move closer to your router.
Reboot the router, even if your Internet is working on other devices.

If none of the above work, try disabling Wi-Fi completely and see if Instagram works over the mobile network. If this happens, it's time to buy a new router, but if not, then it's time to move on to the next potential solution.

Reboot your phone

As with many technical problems, the simplest and most effective solution is to reboot your device. When Instagram is down, why not apply the same logic.

Reboot your device and this can instantly solve your problems with your favorite social network. Just press and hold the power button and then select Restart. If that doesn't work, move on to the next item on the list.

Uninstall and reinstall the Instagram app

Sometimes when installing or updating Instagram, an error can occur that causes it to stop working. The only way to fix this is to uninstall and reinstall the app. This is not at all difficult to do: open "Settings" > go to the section with applications "Apps and notifications" > find Instagram in the list and click "Delete".

Now all you have to do is find Instagram in the Google Play app store and reinstall it. Your device will automatically install the latest version of the app, but you may need to re-enter your login information.

Check the list of known issues

If you've tried all of the methods on our list and Instagram still doesn't work, it could be a known app bug that the Instagram developers are already aware of and are working on fixing. You can track these issues and bugs in the so-called Instagram Known Issues list.

These known issues may have workarounds, so be sure to check the link above.

Share your opinion in the comments under this article and in our Telegram chat.

[SOLVED] Instagram not working? 8 Ways to Solve a Problem!

Instagram is an extremely famous service that is very popular among smartphone users. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the application may sometimes work incorrectly or refuse to function at all. Fortunately, there are still ways to improve the service.
The issue of Instagram inoperability is quite general, since the application may not start up for you, or, for example, the publication of pictures may not work. In this article, we have tried to touch upon all possible malfunctions on Instagram as concisely as possible so that you can return to normal use of the service.

Option 1: the application does not start

First, let's consider the case when Instagram refuses to start on your gadget at all. This problem can occur for various reasons.

Cause 1: Application (operating system) crashed

The first thing to do is simply reboot your device. In most cases, this simple action is enough to make the program work. As a rule, this will require you to hold down the power key for a long time, and then swipe across the screen (for iOS) or select the appropriate item in the shutdown menu (for Android).

If this does not help, you should reinstall Instagram. On different models, this process may be performed differently, for example, on the Apple iPhone, you will need to hold the application icon for a long time, and then click on the icon with a cross that appears and confirm the deletion.

Reason 2: outdated version of the application

If you have disabled auto-update of installed programs, then you should suspect the incompatibility of the old version of Instagram and the current version of the mobile operating system.

In this case, you will need to open your application store and go to the "Updates" section. If there is an “Update” item next to Instagram, try installing an update or completely reinstalling Instagram, as described above.

Reason 3: outdated version of the operating system

Instagram developers try to cover the maximum number of operating system versions, but sooner or later older operating systems are no longer supported by them.

If you are a user of an Android gadget that has an operating system version lower than the fourth, it is likely that the program does not start because of this.

The best solution is to search the Internet for an old version of Instagram that was still supported by your device and then install it on your smartphone. It should be understood here that if you use the old version of Instagram, you will not have new features.

If you are an iPhone user below version 8, you will also not be able to get the new version of Instagram. Luckily, the App Store should by default offer to download the latest available version for your device, so you'll need to uninstall the app from your device, then redownload and agree to install a less recent version.

Cause 4: Software (settings) conflict

In more rare cases, the program may not start due to conflicting software or settings on the smartphone. The most effective option in this case is to reset all settings (the content will remain in place).

Reset iPhone

Open the settings on your smartphone and go to the "Basic" section.

In the lower area of the window, you will need to open the "Reset" subsection.

Select "Reset all settings", and then agree to continue the selected procedure.

Reset settings on Android

Unlike iOS, Android has various shells from third-party manufacturers that can completely change the appearance of the system and the name of the parameters, so the instructions below are approximate.

Go to the settings on your smartphone and select "Advanced" in the "System and device" section.

Open the "Backup and reset" section.

At the bottom of the window that opens, select the "Reset settings" section.

After making sure that the item "Clear device memory" is inactive, select the "Personal data" button and confirm your intention to reset the settings.

https://youtu.be/Cf2_MgZxW-w

Problem on the computer

In case of problems with a laptop or computer running Windows, you should use the latest version of the official Instagram application and the latest version of the browser. Also, access to the site may be blocked by an antivirus application, a firewall, or in the file hosts .

In the latter case, open document hosts in directory %windir%\system32\drivers\etc using any text editor.

Delete the line with the address Instagram.com and save the changes using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S .

Administrator rights are required to access hosts .

Try to clear cache and cookies in your browser. To do this:

Open the navigation history of the Internet browser through its settings.

Remove cache and cookies .

In Chrome, Opera, Yandex, Firefox, the process looks similar, the names of the items may differ.

Option 2: the application starts but information is not loaded

After launching Instagram, the feed automatically appears on the screen, in which profile photos you follow will be loaded.

As a rule, if images refuse to load, you should immediately think about the poor quality of the Internet connection. If possible, switch to another wireless network, then the information will be loaded quickly and correctly.

In addition, the Internet may not work correctly due to a malfunction of the device, so sometimes, to solve the problem, the gadget just needs to be restarted.

How to understand that Instagram is not working

There are several online resources that allow you to find out the status of sites, for example, Down Detector. Follow the link for information about the functioning of the social network. At the top, see information about the status of the service, if there are no problems, the inscription 9 will be displayed0128 No problems at Instagram or "No problem" .

If only you have a problem, click "I have a problem with Instagram" . On the same site you can see a map of service failures. It shows where the service is not running today.

Similar service Outage.report. It contains information about the status of the site, comments from users about the status of the site or emerging problems, a crash map, and message dynamics.

You can find out if the application is to blame for the problem by visiting the web version of the service through a browser.

Option 5: the application starts, but is very slow (lags)

If the application works, but with difficulty, several possible causes should be suspected and checked here.

Reason 1: device load

If a large number of applications are running on your gadget at the same time, this can easily cause Instagram to work slowly and incorrectly.

First of all, you need to clear the list of running programs. For example, on an Apple iPhone, this procedure can be performed by double-clicking the Home button on an unlocked device, and then swiping up unnecessary applications, leaving, if possible, only Instagram.

You can do it even easier by simply rebooting the device. After launch, if the problem was RAM, the application will run much faster.

Reason 2: Internet speed is slow

Instagram cannot be used without an internet connection. Moreover, for the operation of the application to be comfortable, the network speed must be at the level.

Check the current network speed using the Speedtest application. If the results show that the Internet speed is lower than at least one Mbps, then you need to connect to another network source, the speed of which should be higher.

Sometimes a slow network speed can also be caused by a smartphone malfunction. You can solve the problem by rebooting it.

Cause 3: The application does not work correctly

If the application has severe glitches, you should try reinstalling it, as described in the first version of this article.

Moreover, sometimes developers can release bad updates that completely deprive you of the normal use of the application. In this case, as a rule, problems are quickly “fixed” with a new, promptly released update.

Blocking or hacking an account: how to restore your page?

An error during authorization in the Instagram application can be caused by a hack or account blocking.

Reasons for blocking

Plagiarism.
Insulting users.
Spam.
Inappropriate profile material: erotica, extremism, incitement to violence.
Exceeding limits on subscriptions/unsubscriptions, likes, comments, etc.

Returning access to the account through technical support

Open the Instagram client for mobile devices.
Touch the entry help line - it is located under the form for entering access.

Enter nickname.
Click Next.

Click on the "Need help?" line.

Fill out a support ticket.
Click Submit.

After sending, a letter will come to the mail - carefully read and follow the requirements to return the account. The most detailed instructions on how to write to support at the link.

Complete instructions on how to restore Instagram using the link.

Sixth solution

Here we are about, which is appropriate to use only when the account is too expensive, and nothing else helps:

Delete the application from your smartphone, restart the device. Download the program again. Try to log in.
Reset phone to factory settings. Now, among other things, download "Instagram" and try to enter your profile.

Here are all the ways that will help you return to Instagram again if the application stubbornly refuses to authorize you. We hope that at least one of them will be useful to you.

Instagram may not work for many reasons: poor Wi-Fi, application incompatibility with OS, gadget overload. In this article, we will analyze the main causes of resource failures and help to eliminate them. For convenience, we divide the problems into 4 categories:

Problem starting
Problems with login and authorization
Problems with uploading photos and videos
The application is too slow

Let's analyze each of these problems

Problem with starting. When Instagram does not want to start on your device at all, you have already tried to restart your gadget more than twice, try reinstalling Instagram. To get started, uninstall the application:

Removing from iPhone: Hold the application icon for a few seconds until a cross appears, click on it to delete.
With android: go to the application manager through the settings, select Instagram, click on the "Delete" button.

Download Insta again. If everything remains the same as before, you cannot log in to Insta, try updating the application through App Store. When entering the program, pay attention to the "Updates" section. Open it and select Instagram. There is another reason why the service refuses to function: incompatible software. If you tried 2 methods above, but nothing helped, go to the settings section on your iPhone. Select "Basic" and scroll down. Tap the Reset category. Select Reset All Settings.

Problem with login and authorization. If you can't access your profile, your account may have been blocked or hacked. Read the rules of service and write to those. support. Follow the same steps when hacking a profile.

Photo and video upload problems. Photos may not load because the Internet is not working well, the application is not updated, or you have an old version of the OS. Try reconnecting to Wi-Fi, updating the app in App Store, or installing a new version of iOS. If you do not see in your account and, although all the photos are in place, check the correct operation of the resource from the official Insta website for a computer or write to technical support.

Lack of network connection or outdated firmware: solutions

Earlier, we figured out what to do if the program does not work correctly, the account is hacked, or accesses are incorrectly entered during authorization. It remains to talk about the last two reasons why Instagram users may not work - this is the lack of a network connection and outdated smartphone firmware.

Options:

Connect to another network or wait for a stable signal.
Reflash the phone or purchase a new one.

If you decide to change the firmware, contact a professional so as not to harm the device.

We advise how to find a user without spending a lot of time on it.

Restarting the device

Restarting the application did not help? Then reboot the device! Technology fails, especially smartphones and tablets, so the next simple step is to reboot the device from which the login attempt is being made. Thus, applications are completely unloaded from the system and RAM of the device, without residual traces, which will allow, after turning on the smartphone, to launch the application again in a “clean” system. If these simple steps did not help, then the problem lies a little deeper.

Access your profile using Facebook

This method will only work if the same user has Instagram and Facebook accounts linked. Also, if the device has a signed-in Facebook app. On the Instagram login screen, you need to select the option - "Continue as username" the inscription is highlighted in blue. In this case, the system will be logged in through the Facebook account data. If the accounts are not linked, or there is no Facebook page at all, then this method is completely useless.

Incorrectly entered data during authorization: change a forgotten password

Sometimes, due to the large number of accounts in different social networks, users forget their passwords and logins. However, it is impossible to enter your Instagram personal account without correctly entered access, so in such a situation you can change your password by following the instructions below and log in to the program.

Open the app on your mobile device or tablet.
Tap the line that says "Help signing in" or "Forgot your password?" below the login form.

Enter the email or mobile number associated with the page.

Click Next or Submit link depending on the program interface on the platform.

Open an email or SMS with a link to restore access.
Click on the link.
Create a new password.
Save.
After that, open the application and log in using the new code.

Correcting the situation

Let's consider everything in order. Everything is clear with the sandbox, wait, hope and believe that justice will prevail and the management will decide that you are not a bot created for spam, and will return the ability to influence the search distribution to your markers.

To permanently solve the problem with the banned account, you need:

Remove all tags under the post, which is not displayed in the search distribution.
Insert hashtags manually.
Do not use the same comment under different posts.

Important!

You should understand the difference between limiting user actions (hidden ban) and blocking an account. In the latter case, the described measures will not help you: only a revision of the published content (read, behavior) and a new account will save you.

If hashtags stop working for no reason, you do not have a page on Facebook, then you should create it.

To check, create a post on Instagram with a low-frequency (preferably unique) tag, share it on FB and check if it appeared there. If so, then Instagram tags should earn.

Fourth solution

Can't access Instagram from your phone and OS is not 10? Then you can follow this algorithm, which at first glance seems illogical:

Go to the official website of Instagram in your browser, log in.
Navigate to settings and about.
Indicate “problems logging in” as reasons. Confirm your decision.
You will have to give up Insta for 2-3 hours.
But then log in in the usual way - through a login and password.

Strange actions, but for some reason they help a considerable number of desperate users to return to their account.

Check date and time

Check the date and time in the phone settings, turn on automatic detection of date, time and time zone. Applications and websites use certificates to function correctly, and certificates are signed with a specific date and time.