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Instagram for mac

How To Use Instagram On A Mac (inc. M1, M2 & M3 Macs)

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Although there’s is no official Instagram app for Macs, here we show you how to use Instagram on a Mac including on Apple Silicon M1, M2 and M3 chip Macs.

Is There An Instagram App For Macs?

There is no Instagram app for Macs. The Instagram app is only available for iOS, Android and Windows.

Note that the Gramblr, Flume, Visual Grub and Carousel for Mac Instagram apps are no longer available but all the ways of using Instagram on a Mac featured here are excellent alternatives to them.

Here then are the best ways to use and install Instagram on a Mac in order of ranking.

1. Instagram Online

instagram web on mac

By far the easiest way to use Instagram on a Mac is to use the official web version of Instagram.

Although when it was first released you couldn’t upload photos with the Instagram web app, you can now do pretty much anything you want with it including upload photos from a Mac.

The only things missing from the web version are Stories and the Instagram shop.

To use it, simply go to the Instagram website and enter your username and password.

 

2. PlayCover

If you want to install the Instagram app on your Mac then the easiest way is using PlayCover.

PlayCover is free to use as its an open source project that allows you to run iOS apps and games on Apple Silicon Macs (it does not support Intel Macs) with mouse, keyboard and controller support.

PlayCover works by putting the iOS Instagram app in an iPad wrapper which then allows the apps to run natively on Apple Silicon Macs.

PlayCover is safe to use on a Mac and works on all versions of macOS including the latest versions of Sonoma, Ventura and Monterey.

It can also be used to install other iOS apps which aren’t available for Mac such as Netflix too.

Here’s how to download the Instagram app on a Mac using PlayCover.

  • Download PlayCover and double click on the DMG file.
  • Drag PlayCover into your Applications folder.

install playcover on mac

  • Double click on the PlayCover app to open it or Ctrl-click on it and select “Open”.

open playcover on mac

  • Click “Open” when macOS warns you whether you want to open it.

playcover macos open app

  • When you first run PlayCover you may have to install Xcode Command Line Tools if you’ve never installed it before. This is an Apple tool that allows developers to create apps for Apple products and is perfectly safe to install. PlayCover will automatically do this for you when you click “Install”.

playcover mac xcode

  • To complete the installation you need to authenticate with either Touch ID or enter your admin password on your Mac.

script macos touch id password playcover

  • You must then download a decrypted IPA file for the Instagram iOS app. These are only available from third party sites such as Decrypt and ARM Converter. For example, if you search for “Instagram” in Decrypt you are given the option to download the Instagram IPA file by clicking on Download Latest.

instagram ios app decrypt

  • You then simply drag and drop the decrypted Instagram IPA file into PlayCover to add it to your PlayCover App Library. PlayCover will install the Instagram app and then you’ll get the message “Finished” when its installed. If you go to your PlayCover App Library, you’ll see Instagram has been installed. Note that Instagram will not appear in your Mac’s Applications folder – it only appears in your PlayCover App Library.

instagram app on mac with playcover

  • You can then double click on the the Instagram app to use it on your Mac. You’ll need to enter your Instagram username and password when you open the app.

3. Later

If you’re an Instagram business user or influencer, then you may find Later a good way to post to Instagram from your Mac.

Later is an official Instagram Partner and allows you to schedule posts and manage your Instagram feed on your Mac.

You can quickly plan a whole week of Instagram posts and via the visual editor, drag and drop the sequence and manage the content of them.

Later has free plans although business users have to subscribe.

later instagram on mac

4. Desktop For Instagram

If you’re already a Google Chrome user on Mac, then Desktop for Instagram is a Chrome add-on which allows you to check Instagram from your Chrome browser.

Once installed, just click on the Desktop for Instagram logo in the top right of Chrome, log-in and you can view your Instagram feed.

You can upload photos to your Instagram account and download videos and photos from it.

You can download the Desktop for Instagram Extension in Chrome.

desktop for instagram

5. OneUp

OneUp helps you manage social media channels of all kinds including Instagram.

You simply add your Instagram post to OneUp, select the interval and frequency of automatic recycling and post it now or schedule it for the future.

You can try OneUp for free on your Mac now.

oneup instagram on mac

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